Meg Whitman's "New California"

"Before asking taxpayers for more money, government should cut bureaucracy, cut spending further, improve efficiency and provide better services for less" - Meg Whitman

Meg Whitman spent much of 2008 active in the presidential election. After serving on former Presidential Candidate and Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's National Finance Team, Whitman gave her support to Republican Presidential Nominee, John McCain. During that time, she served as a co-chair of McCain's campaign, spoke at the Republican National Convention, and was even mentioned as a possible choice for Secretary of the Treasury should McCain be elected. Now, Whitman has thrown herself even further into the world of politics, and is running for Governor of California in 2010.

Whitman's campaign platform is "A New California." According to her website, Whitman feels that political leaders in the Golden State haven't met challenges or "seized opportunities" to help California keep its status as the "envy of the world." She wants to help the state become a national and global leader once again:

Restoring California will not be easy. It will take time to uproot old habits… old ways of thinking… and old ways of doing business. But do it we can, and do it we must, because we all love California too much to let it fail.

How does Whitman plan to help California return to its glory days? By focusing on three key issues or the "three bucket theory" as she called it in a recent interview with Fortune Magazine. Job creation and government that "respects taxpayers" are the first two keys. Focus on education is the third one. Whitman feels that good teachers should be rewarded and that all children deserve the best resources and instruction no matter where they are in life.

Whitman became something of a household name when she served as the CEO of eBay from 1998-2008 and was on Fortune Magazine's "Most Powerful Women" list two years in a row (2004, 2005). Before working at eBay, she worked for other major companies such as Procter and Gamble, Hasbro, Stride Rite, and the Walt Disney Company. Whitman is originally from Long Island, NY and graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Business School.

With the amount of big-name support and financial contributions Whitman has on her side, pundits say she has a real chance of winning the GOP nomination for 2010, but the real challenge will be beating her democratic opponent in a very blue state.