Fiorina: ‘I’m clearly among the top contenders’

While she received rave reviews in the undercard debate last month, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO, who is ranked seventh in the Washington Examiner’s latest power rankings, is eagerly awaiting her chance to show the voters that she is indeed a “real contender” in the 2016 contest — and the one who can go on to beat Hillary Clinton.

Examiner: You have the debate coming up. What’s the biggest difference in debate strategy going from the undercard debate to the main debate. Obviously, you are the first one to make the jump up or down. What’s the difference?

Fiorina: Well, you know, the truth is I’m not sure there is a big difference in strategy in this sense: when I went into the first debate, less than 40 percent of Republican primary voters had ever heard my name. Going into this debate, my name ID is only at about 50 percent. So the truth is there are a whole bunch of people tuning in who don’t know who I am. My name ID remains the lowest in the field, and so once again, this is a big opportunity to introduce myself. But now, obviously I’m introducing myself as a real contender in the top tier.

Examiner: One difference … there was more focus on Hillary Clinton and each of the camp’s respective records in the undercard and there was more back-and-forth squabbling in the main debate. How does that affect you at all going into this?

Fiorina: Well, look — of course there will be opportunities for me to compare and contrast my experience, my record and how I will lead with others on that stage. But it remains important to compare and contrast to Hillary Clinton and the Democrats as well. In the end, that’s who we’re going to have to beat. I don’t intend to stop criticizing Hillary Clinton or Democrat Party platforms or Democrat policies, and I’ll take advantage of opportunities to contrast myself with others on that main debate stage as well.

Examiner: If you look at the field now, obviously a lot of the polls show at least 50 percent support going toward the three outsiders – Donald Trump, Ben Carson and yourself. But one could argue that you would not be considered an outsider had you ended up winning in 2010. Do you consider your 2010 loss a blessing in disguise in the prism of 2016 considering the anti-Washington strain amongst primary voters.

Fiorina: Well, the 2010 race was always a very big hill to climb. California is the deepest blue state practically, and I was running as a conservative Republican. Nevertheless, I learned a lot in that race that I think prepares me for this one. For example, I learned that unifying the Republican party is key. I also learned that as a conservative, I can attract Democrats and independents without changing what I believe, and — because that’s what I did in California. We won more Democratic and more independent votes than virtually any Republican running anywhere in the nation. I consider that run a good learning experience.

Examiner: Do you think the loss in the long-term has turned out to be beneficial for you?

Fiorina: Well, it’s hard to answer a hypothetical on a hypothetical. But look, I have a long, long track record of challenging the status quo. It’s what I’ve done my life, it’s how you go from secretary to CEO, and I think the reason outsiders are capturing the lion’s share of support is because voters understand that what’s at stake here now is more than just putting a Republican in the White House. What’s at stake here is a system that’s broken. It’s broken. Seventy-five percent of the American people think the federal government is corrupt. Over 80 percent of the American people think the political class is either unwilling or unable to do anything about it. I agree with them. That’s why I’m running for president.

Examiner: You’ve touched on … the ongoing refugee crisis over in Europe. You’ve mentioned how President Obama’s failed to lead, that the U.S. knew the crisis was coming down the rails. How much blame do you lay at the feet of the administration over the mishandling of Syria?

Fiorina: I lay a lot of blame at the administration, Obama, Secretary of State Clinton for a whole series of failures: Syria, Iraq. I mean, President Obama and Clinton declared victory in Iraq in 2011, and now what we have, in essence, is a state that’s falling apart, that’s a huge haven for terrorists. There were a set of options available in Syria three years ago that no longer exist. President Obama, when he draws a red line and then fails to do anything about it, emboldens every adversary that we have. There has been a failure to confront Russia. There has been a failure to confront China, which is clearly a rising adversary. They’ve failed in so many respects, and they also have rewarded bad behavior, over and over and over again. The opening of an embassy in Cuba is the rewarding of bad behavior, and so that sends a signal to every adversary we have as well.

Examiner: With your steady rise in the polls, people looking at how’s the ground game going in the early states. What is the situation on your team in that respect? Do you think you’re prepared, assuming you do get another bump after another solid debate performance and your rise in the polls — do you think you’re prepared in that aspect?

Fiorina: Yes. We are prepared.

Examiner: Vice President [Dick] Cheney had a book come out last week about American exceptionalism and how he doesn’t believe President Obama thinks America is exceptional. I want to flip that on you — do you think Hillary Clinton believes America is exceptional?

Fiorina: I don’t know, but she sure doesn’t act as though she does. I mean, I just don’t know. I judge her by her actions. So, you know, when we have a purposeful pre-planned terrorist attack on our embassy in Benghazi, and the next morning she gets up and basically apologizes for a video and how it doesn’t represent American values, I think that behavior suggests that she doesn’t understand either the nature of the threat or the nature of our nation.

Examiner: There’s been a lot of chatter lately about a potential Joe Biden run for president. I just want to get your thoughts about that possibility. What do you think he would do for the race?

Fiorina: Well, obviously, I don’t know what’s in Joe Biden’s mind. Having lost a child ourselves, I certainly feel for him in my heart. I really do. So who knows what the vice president will do. On the other hand, it’s also true that the vice president is up to his eyeballs in the failures of this administration. I mean, he has been by President Obama’s side in every policy decision. If he runs, I don’t think it changes the standard-bearer for the Democrat Party — but it doesn’t change the reality that the Democrat Party is pursuing policies that are dangerous for this nation and that are burdening Americans with a set of policies and debts and deficits that are crushing the potential of too many Americans.

Examiner: You talked to [Fox News’] Howard Kurtz. You told him that you thought the media was paying too much attention to Donald Trump. Do you get tired of people asking about Donald Trump?

Fiorina: Well, you know what’s interesting to me, honestly, and I may have said this to Howard — nobody asks me about him except the media. Voters don’t ask me questions about him. Voters ask questions about what’s important to them.

Examiner: I was pointing more to the media because that’s obviously who a lot of — they’re obviously focused on. He’s the leader in the polls.

Fiorina: Well, you know, yes and no. Honestly, I think the media and Donald Trump are using each other. I think Donald Trump is very entertaining. I think the media, frankly, sometimes is more into entertainment than news. I mean, Bernie Sanders is pulling huge crowds, and in some cases, bigger than Donald Trump’s and he hasn’t gotten much attention.

Examiner: You made some news last week when you were on Laura Ingraham’s show and you mentioned that you think it’s “sexist” for people to talk about you and say you’re only running to become vice president … Matt Lewis over at The Daily Caller, he disagreed with those comments, saying how Marco Rubio and Ben Carson among others — you even had Gov. [Scott] Walker say that Marco Rubio would be a good running mate. What do you say to people who disagree with that assertion?

Fiorina: When people are talking broadly about many candidates as possible vice president’s then, obviously, that’s very even-handed. And I wouldn’t disagree with his assessment. I think it’s fair to say that early on, I was really the candidate that people talked most about and said, ‘well, clearly she’s not running for president. She’s running for vice president.’ And perhaps that chatter now has eased since I’m clearly among the top contenders for the presidency and that’s the job I’m running for.

Examiner: Let me flip that around on you though. Who would you consider for vice president?

Fiorina: Well, you know, I’ve said frequently, actually, that I wouldn’t name a name at this point because I think character and capability are revealed over time and under pressure. And what a presidential campaign certainly does is put people under pressure over time. So I want to see how people perform over time and under pressure.

Examiner: In New Hampshire … you made some comments about the GOP leadership. You talked about Speaker [John] Boehner and Mitch McConnell. You also made similar comments last month. Do you think Speaker Boehner and Mitch McConnell should step aside?

Fiorina: Well, I said what I meant, which is that leadership is about producing results, and I think people now want to see results. People worked hard to put a historic majority in the House and return the Senate to a Republican majority and people expect results for that. So I named three things that I think would be useful for the leadership to do. Pass a border security bill. Pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, defund Planned Parenthood, and pass the REINS Act. Every single one of those things would make a difference whether or not President Obama will choose to veto them. They would make a difference. I guess I would encourage Boehner and McConnell to deliver some results.

Examiner: Colin Powell came out in support of the Iran deal, as did Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who’s obviously had some choice words to say about you. What did you think about them coming out and supporting this Iran deal?

Fiorina: Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s views are irrelevant to me. She’s the committee chair of the Democratic Party, of course she’s going to support this deal. I disagree profoundly with my good friend Colin Powell. I think this is a terrible deal. I think Iran got everything they wanted. There is no question that Iran is hell-bent on nuclear capability. There is no question that Iran will use all this money that’s flowing in to continue to fund their proxies in the region, the Quds force. This is a bad deal for the region, for the U.S., and for the world, and it is why I have said that on Day One in the Oval Office, I will send a loud and clear message. First, to my good friend [Israeli Prime Minister] Bibi Netanyahu to reassure him we’ll stand with the state of Israel, but second to the Supreme Leader of Iran to say ‘new deal.’ We’re going to make it as hard as possible for you to move money. We have to cut off the money flow.

Examiner: What do you think your path is to the nomination? How do you end up going off and knocking — I mean, Mr. Trump is obviously way up in the field with Ben Carson. How do you end up knocking him off and everyone else, including the Jeb Bush’s of the world and snagging the nomination?

Fiorina: I think people are looking for a leader who has a proven track record of solving problems, of challenging the status quo, and of actually leading, producing results. Not talking about it, doing it. And I think to do the job of president now requires someone who understands how the economy actually works, understands how the world works and who’s in it and who our adversaries are and who our allies are. Understands bureaucracies and how to cut them down to size and hold them accountable because Washington’s one giant, bloated bureaucracy, corrupt and inept. Understands technology, which is both a tool that we can use and a weapon being used against us, and understands leadership, and I think I will continue to demonstrate to the American people that I am that leader.