Carly Fiorina's rookie mistakes

By Richard Barry

This was my favourite political story of the week and proof that Carly Fiorina, the Republican presidential "contender" who has never been elected to anything, is an amateur. 

Carly Fiorina spends a lot of her time as a Republican presidential candidate attacking Hillary Rodham Clinton, the leading Democratic candidate, and has earned considerable news coverage for it. On Wednesday, with Mrs. Clinton set to give a speech at a South Carolina hotel, Ms. Fiorina arranged a news conference outside – for little reason, it seemed, other than to taunt her.

Unlike Mrs. Clinton, she pointedly assured reporters, she would take their questions.

Unfortunately for Fiorina, the press was happy to oblige peppering her with questions about whether she regretted appearing at a Clinton Global Initiaitive event, and whether she was shadowing Clinton to help male candidates running for the GOP nomination who are making the calculation that it looks better for a woman to harass another women?

Then, as the New York Times reported, "Ms. Fiorina quickly grew discomfited when the questions seemed to treat her more as a heckler pulling a stunt than as a formidable candidate making an otherwise significant campaign stop."

And then she made the silliest of mistakes, which was to flat out lie when asked by a reporter if she was there because Mrs. Clinton was there.

Ms. Fiorina insisted she had planned her trip here “many, many weeks ago, so perhaps she’s following me.” She said she had lots more to offer than merely Clinton-bashing: “Anyone who has sat through these avails over many months knows that I will take any question on any subject, and the vast majority of my speeches in front of anyone are about a host of issues.”

“I planned to be here weeks and weeks ago!” she said. “I have a luncheon to go to, with the G.O.P. here.”

"At this hotel?"

“This trip has been on my itinerary for a very long time,” she said.

And then, after 11 minutes, her media "avail" was over.

There are a few things the media love. One is demolishing a badly planned stunt, and another is catching a candidate is an obvious lie.

Two strikes, Ms. Fiorina. Maybe you should spend a few more seasons in the minor leagues before taking your shot in "the show."