Interview With Carly Fiorina

L.G.: Gotcha. Now, in February 2003, before we went into Iraq, people were worried that the price of oil was skyrocketing to $35 a barrel.

C.F.: I know, that's incredible, isn't it?

L.G.: So tell me what your analysis of that is.

C.F.: I think there are a couple of things. First, I think clearly the demand for oil is skyrocketing, driven in large measure, but not completely, by the burgeoning economies in China and particularly in India. And there seems to be no abatement to that demand. Still, that rise in demand may explain why oil has risen from $35 a barrel, but it doesn't explain why the price of a gallon of oil has doubled in the past 12 months. For that, I think we have to look to a weak dollar, and people moving investment into commodities like oil, to some degree of speculation in that move. And I think we need to look on the margins to global unrest and concern. I don't think it's the Iraq war, however.

L.G.: You don't?

C.F.: No, I don't, because I think there was basically very little supply coming out of Iraq in 2003. I don't think in 2003 that people were counting on a big supply of oil coming out of Iraq. Perhaps they were in 2004, but I don't really think so.

L.G.: How much would you attribute the weakness of the dollar to the government fiscal policies that we've been subjected to?

C.F.: See, I happen to have a slightly different point of view than some do. I think a strong dollar is the result of policies, but I don't think the strong dollar is in and of itself a policy. So what do I mean by that? I think a strong dollar results from a belief that the U.S. dollar is a good investment. Where does that belief come from? I think bolstering free trade is a boon to the dollar. I think interest rates relative to other interest rates are a boon to the dollar. So a period of long easing or rapid easing is not helpful to a strong dollar actually, although it may be helpful to economic growth in the short term. And, most importantly of all, I think our pro-growth policies, if people believe that the U.S. economy is creating jobs and growing, then the dollar is likely to be stronger. If they don't believe that, it's likely we could be weaker. And, of course, as you know, a weak dollar is not all bad-export growth in our economy is one of the real highlights.

L.G.: Sure. Let me ask you sort of a dumb question maybe.

C.F.: I doubt it.

L.G.: Well, you mentioned whether Clinton can be blamed for the tech boom and bust, but obviously under Clinton and the Republicans who controlled Congress, there were budget surpluses, and the economy was pretty strong through the latter part of his term. Republicans are supposed to be the party of fiscal responsibility, and your candidate has railed against this, but why do you think that is—that under the Democrats, the fiscal policy seems to be more responsible, and under Republicans, particularly these last seven and a half years, it has been sort of crazy.

C.F.: I think you've said a lot there.

L.G.: More than I should have!

C.F.: No, no. Fiscal policy is not just, or even not even principally, the purview of the president. There is Congress involved, and you're absolutely right that a Democratic president, Bill Clinton, and every Republican in Congress came to a set of agreements to balance the budget. That agreement was noteworthy, but it took both parties to play. You're also correct that it is a Republican Congress, and a Republican president, George Bush, who saw the greatest increase in government spending since the Great Society.

L.G.: Why is that?

C.F.: Because they made the wrong choices.

L.G.: I don't know how long you've identified yourself as a Republican.

C.F.: Well, I've been a Republican for all of my voting life.

L.G.: When you joined up, did you think this was going to be a party of conservative stewards of the budget?

C.F.: Yes, and I think it's one of the reasons why Republicans are losing congressional seats, because people are angry over the fact that government spending is out of control. I think it's one of the reasons that Bush's popularity is low. Clearly the war is driving as much if not more of that, but yes, I think there are people who are surprised and disappointed that a Republican president and a Republican Congress have in fact driven a huge spending increase. I'm talking about a domestic spending increase. Now, I will quickly say that those domestic spending increases have gotten very broad bipartisan support. So if you look at the farm bill, for example, I mean it's a tribute to pork. And everyone, including Obama but excluding McCain, signed onto the farm bill. McCain voted against it. He has voted against every one, he doesn't believe in farm subsidies-particularly to millionaire farmers.

L.G.: What are they growing in Arizona these days?

C.F.: Oh, I have no idea.

L.G.: [Laughs] I assume that the agricultural output of Illinois is higher than it is in Arizona. [The Illinois agriculture industry is more than twice the size of Arizona's, according to government statistics.]