I wish that Carly Fiorina could get some more traction in her run for President. This book is an amazing statement of who she is, why she is running for office, what her qualifications are, and why she is running. I find her compelling and very much in line with my thinking and beliefs.
I am becoming persuaded by her because I find her incredibly compelling. She is a conscience Conservative who is good on social issues, on the importance of small and medium businesses to the American Economy, the rot big government bureaucracies impose on people, places, and futures, and she has a broader experience in dealing with the Federal Government as an advisor and consultant than you might expect.
Her goals for the country are to “unlock the potential of every American. Revitalize Main Street and the middle class. Rebuild and retrain America. Reform Government. (And) Restore American Leadership. “ (page 171). Yes, this is a general vision and could be stated by any number of folks. I find her compelling because she knows how to tell the story from her mind and heart. Her Conservatism sounds like her native language not like she is speaking a foreign tongue as some of our more “moderate” candidates do when they use Conservative phrases they have focused group to death.
She begins the book with the heart wrenching story of the loss of her (step) daughter, Lori, to drugs. She notes how the tragedy of a life so promising was derailed by addiction and a far too early death. Fiorina says she thinks of Lori and sees “an ocean of untapped potential”. And it breaks her heart when she sees that same loss of human potential in so many places throughout our society. She sees the Vision of America is that we each have the right (and duty) to fulfill our potential. To see for ourselves what needs doing in our lives right where we live. We need to develop that right and have it flourish for future generations, as well.
The first three chapters develop the theme of human potential, the end of her time at Hewlett – Packard, what she did afterward, and how she got involved in Good360 where they take goods and technology that would normally go to landfills and get it into the hands of organizations who need and could put it to use. And they do this fast and efficiently with very few people using technology rather than allowing a bloated bureaucracy to form. She also takes us through her struggles with cancer and what it was like to try and run for the Senate from California against Barbara Boxer while also dealing with the pain and difficulties of radiation and chemotherapy. Yes, she lost the race, but learned a lot through the process. And it was in that same year she and her husband lost Lori.
During the campaign she saw the man made drought in central California and the dead and dried and dead almond trees, the fields no longer producing the nation’s cantaloupes, vegetables, and instead watching the hundreds of millions of gallons of fresh water sent into the sea because of EPA rulings and court findings. She paints a powerful picture of the suffering in Mendota and the impact impersonal government rules have on real lives.
The last three chapters take us through the way that bureaucracies become too large and end up working for themselves rather than for the purposes they were created to support. She illustrates this with story after story about the Progressive misery in California that is driving out businesses, destroying the state’s non-government middle class, and how the population is actually declining for the first time ever.
I loved her chapter on “What Women Want”. She is adamant that women are not a minority group, or an interest group with narrow needs to be manipulated by candidates. Women are “half the nation” and must be involved in any solution that will have a positive effect in fixing what is wrong with America. I believe her. I am the father of three sons and three daughters. I know how wonderful and talented every child is and the amazing things they can do when supported and allowed to tap into their dreams, talents, and given support to go to work on them. . I loved her recounting of the way Opportunity International has used billions of donated dollars by giving out $150 loans all over the world is truly inspiring that the seeming impossible can happen. You must read the story of Remy and Amina and pages 151 and 152. I dare you to not tear up. I did. Because I know from personal experience what a dream paired with work fueled by desperation and a little support from others can do.
Finally, she gives us her program for fixing what is harming our nation. I am with her all the way
This is a powerful book. I urge you to read it and contemplate its message. Then I want you to give Carly Fiorina careful consideration and hold other candidates up to her standard of thoughtfulness, integrity, and the content of her vision. In my view, almost all the others fall short. Some big names fall far short.
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