President Barack Obama came to the White House "grossly inexperienced," having traded in words, not actions, for most of his adult life, and to this day he appears unaware of the need for language to signal, not replace, intent and deeds, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina told
Newsmax TV on Tuesday.
But hours before another Obama speaking engagement, the annual
State of the Union address, the celebrated business leader and rumored presidential candidate told "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner it will be up to Republicans, starting tonight, to counter the president's words with an agenda of their own, she said.
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"We should not allow the president to determine the terms of the debate, because we know that the only terms of the debate that he likes are typical, liberal, redistributionist, class-warfare politics, as opposed to really working to find common ground, and for the good of the American people," she said
Fiorina offered a tough appraisal of the Obama era, telling "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner that nothing about the president's six years in office suggests fitness for the job he has or for any business post in the private sector that awaits him in 2017.
"This president fails to anticipate problems," said Fiorina. "We've just seen that over and over again.
"It really wasn't a surprise when Russia moved on Crimea," she said. "It wasn't a surprise when Russia moved into eastern Ukraine. It wasn't a surprise when ISIS moved in Syria and Iraq, even though [Obama] called them a JV team.
"He's always caught flat-footed, and one of the most important things is for an executive — whether they're in business or government or anywhere else — is to anticipate problems and to act before they become huge problems," said Fiorina. "On this score, as on others, President Obama has failed."
Asked whether the president's failures are rooted in ineptitude or naiveté, Fiorina said, "I think he is grossly inexperienced, and I think that makes him naive.
"He is a man of words," Fiorina explained. "He has spent most of his life with words, speaking, and he seems to fail to understand that talking and acting are two different things. He seems to think that when he gives a speech, he has acted.
"He hasn't," she said, "and words are only important if they signal intent to act, and that intent is then followed up with real action and real production of results."
Fiorina sounded unsurprised at reportsLINK that Obama will use tonight's prime-time speech before Congress — now under Republican management in both chambers — to take credit for an economic recovery and, at the same time, float a policy wish list that includes a tax hike on higher-income earners.
"He will apparently declare victory on the economy tonight, but of course, whatever life there is in the economy is not due to his policies, it's in spite of his policies," she said.
"He's always been interested in redistributing wealth rather than growing the economy," Fiorina said of the tax increase. "This isn't a new theme for him; he's tried this over and over and over. … What's surprising is that he is doubling down on what has already been a failed strategy in the face of a House and a Senate that are GOP-controlled.
"So if he thinks this is an opening gambit towards finding common ground for tax reform, it's clearly not," said Fiorina. "That's what surprising and disappointing."
As for her own political aspirations,
Fiorina said that "I'm not a candidate yet although I am
seriously considering becoming one."
She anticipated choosing "in the spring time frame" whether to join what is shaping up to be a crowded Republican presidential primary field — a decision she said will depend in part on her ability to assemble a strong political team and donor base.
"I must say I'm very encouraged by the support I'm getting so far," she said.
She said her private-sector work in encouraging people to unlock their potential, and to help restore a sense of limitless possibilities that many Americans have lost, is one qualification she would bring to the presidency.
Fiorina said the Republican Party is helped by the presence not just of more women, but of more people who are not professional politicians and therefore embody the concept of a government run by civilians.
She said the Democratic refrain of a Republican "war on women," which paid political dividends in 2012 but fizzled in 2014, "is a ridiculous charge."
"Democrats would want women to believe that the only issue we care about is what they call reproductive rights," she said, "and in truth we know that every issue is a woman's issue."