Why Meg Whitman Lost the California Elections Analytical Essay by scribbler

Why Meg Whitman Lost the California Elections
A close look at the Meg Whitman vs. Jerry Brown race for governor in California.
# 153032 | 2,822 words | 11 sources | MLA | 2013 | US
Published on May 02, 2013 in Political Science (Election and Campaigns) , Political Science (State and Local Politics)


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Description:

The paper begins by explaining why politics, elections and social changes in California, the Golden State, are watched very closely across the United States. The paper looks at the positions that both candidates took during the campaign and considers the main mistakes each side made, the difference the Latino vote made, what turned the voters off about Meg Whitman and what turned voters on about Jerry Brown. The paper discusses how voters tend to like experience over newcomers but focuses on the enormous amounts of money spent by Whitman, $140 million of her own cash, that had a lot to do with voters being turned off by her.

Outline:
Introduction
Money & Power - Why did Whitman Lose?
Money & Power - Why did Brown Win?
The TV Ads - What Whitman, Brown Tried to Convey
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Meg Whitman is the former CEO of eBay, a hugely successful Internet company that made her fabulously wealthy. She is credited with leading eBay into a huge financial success, and no one disputes that Whitman surely had business acumen in that regard. She used that money to attempt to buy the governorship of California, without having attempted to run for office at any local or regional level first. She won the Republican primary for governor of California in June, 2010, by spending $70 million of her own money.
"Cathleen Decker with the Los Angeles Times writes that "Wealthy candidates usually lose" because, for one reason, "...long corporate careers tend to provide opportunities for chieftains to be cast as heartless folks" (Decker, 2010, p. 1). In the case of Whitman - and another wealthy candidate in California, Carly Fiorina, who ran for U.S. Senate against Barbara Boxer - the heartlessness factor was brought up in Brown's ads reminding voters that Whitman laid off workers "to benefit the bottom line."
"Another reason fabulously wealthy candidates like Whitman lose, Decker explains, is that "...they insist on dropping into politics at the top, meaning that they skip all the honing that takes place" when they enter at lower levels, and challenge in "less observed races." Whitman's campaign spent so much money that it tended to fuel "...an extravagant advertising campaign that by the end turned more voters against [her] that toward her," Decker writes (p. 2)."

Sample of Sources Used:

  • Blood, Michael R. "Meg Whitman Blankets Airwaves in Final Week of Campaign." Huffington Post. Retrieved December 1, 2010, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com.
  • Brown, Jerry. "Brown Begins the Fall Campaign with Launch of First TV Ad." Retrieved December 1, 2010, from http://www.jerrybrown.org.
  • Coghlan, Ed. "Latinos Saved Jerry Brown, Michael Bennet, Barbara Boxer and Harry Reid."News Hawk Review / News Update. Retrieved December 1, 2010, fromhttp://newshawksreview.com.
  • Decker, Cathleen. "Brown's history, personality lead to victory." Los Angeles Times. RetrievedDecember 1, 2010, from http://www.latimes.com. (2010).
  • Decker, Cathleen. "Experience counts; big money doesn't." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 1, 2010, from http://www.latimes.com. (2010).

Cite this Analytical Essay:

APA Format

Why Meg Whitman Lost the California Elections (2013, May 02) Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/why-meg-whitman-lost-the-california-elections-153032/

MLA Format

"Why Meg Whitman Lost the California Elections" 02 May 2013. Web. 23 March. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/why-meg-whitman-lost-the-california-elections-153032/>

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