Hard to believe that California’s Republicans selected Carly Fiorina over Tom Campbell to run against Barbara Boxer in the Fall. Campbell had polled much better than Fiorina in a theoretical contest with Boxer. Campbell was/is one of the very few California Republican politicians who has appeal among Democrats and Independents. Tens of thousands of Democrats and Independents would likely have voted for Tom Campbell. How many Democrats are going to vote for Carly Fiorina…twelve?
What’s next for Tom Campbell? How about President of San Jose State University?
Don Kassing has agreed to come back and lead SJSU on an interim basis. Tom Campbell could be given the nod to take over leadership of the university in June, 2011. From now until then, Campbell could report to Kassing on a number of special projects for the university, while preparing to take the helm in twelve months.
The last thing San Jose State needs right now is a lengthy nation-wide search for its next president. We all know how that works…such a search would produce a candidate that no one has ever heard of, from a liberal arts college on the east coast that no one has ever heard of. San Jose State needs a proven leader who has roots here, and is connected to Silicon Valley. (Campbell recently served as Dean of the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley).
Can you think of a better candidate to lead San Jose State than Tom Campbell?
> How many Democrats are going to vote for Carly Fiorina?
How many Democrats are going to vote for Barbara Boxer?
A third to a half of Democrats agree with the Tea Partiers.
Boxer is so shrill, arrogant, and unlikable that more than a few Democrats are going to sit home and wax nostalgic about the good old days when being a Democrat was about hope and change and not about telling the Black Chamber of Commerce what blacks are supposed to think.
Pete,
I was really disappointed that Campbell didn’t win. He is an awesome guy. I know so many people he has helped. I would have voted for him over Boxer any day, but there is no way I’ll vote for Fiorina. She gives me the creeps.
I actually agree.
“Hard to believe that California’s Republicans selected Carly Fiorina over Tom Campbell”
Why is that hard to believe? In the primary it is mainly the party hardcore who vote, and social conservative Republican’s are not very bright.
> . . . and social conservative Republican’s are not very bright.
Social conservative Republicans seem to be bright enough to earn a living and pay taxes—taxes which social liberal Democrats seem to require to pay for their government provided condoms and their government provided medical treatments for their multiple, diverse social diseases.
… as opposed to an anti-social conservative?
I voted for Tom Campbell on June 8th, but I have become accustomed to being in the political minority.
I think he’d be a great choice for President of SJSU. Will his early and strong support for 1996’s Proposition 209 (bannung public sector affirmative action) be a stumbling block to being hired for such a position?
Nothing should be a bar. As much as I admire Terry Christensen, my idol and mentor, he was wrong to tout one university president as “the first Asian American President if The CSU”. The guy lasted two weeks and we got stuck with Don Kast-Off. I fully support the need for university presidents of color. Campbell is an A-1 Choice!
Campbell has taught college courses and has been a dean.
Something has to be done to restore the image of SJSU. Functional idiots like Larry Carr,VP of Car Waxing, and Verril Phillips, have reduced the campus to a junior high school. Campbell would put schooling ahead of political correctness.
Your opinions on any matter carry no weight given your constant practice of slandering and insulting people.
Doesn’t seem like a good fit for Campbell, SJSU is more of a vocational school and he’d want the prestige of a research institution behind him for future political forays.
As far as SJSU, internal candidates can do the job better and longer than career climbers from elsewhere. There’s a few Deans (included the recently retired Dean of Social Science – Tim Hegstrom) who could do a great job if allowed to compete. PC politics and the pretensions of a prestige hire tend to generate some awful candidates in the past. There’s even good candidates at other CSU campuses, some of which got there start at SJSU so it would be a comfortable return.
Unfortunately, I think this was Tom Campbell’s last run for public office. He’s probably just about the best statesmen we have in California, but neither party would ever condescend to nominate him in a contested statewide primary election. And he’s not a wealthy man, so could never make a credible bid as an independent. I’d love to see him try running for the Congress again, or for the state Legislature, or even the county Board of Supervisors (or Mayor in 2014), but alas, I don’t think that’s in the cards.
I agree with your point about internal candidates. If not Campbell, I’d like to see someone already on campus get the job.
Tom Campbell’s political problems all come down to one word: “Israel”.
See the LA Times article:
“Tom Campbell’s Israel problem”
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/26/opinion/la-ed-campbell27-2010feb27
No more explanation is needed.
Unfortunately, I think you’re correct. According to former state Senator and Secretary of State Bruce McPherson, Fiorina’s campaign manager even had the nerve to ask McPherson why he would be endorsing “an anti-Semite” for the Senate. The notion that Tom Campbell, who’s criticism of Israeli war crimes and human rights violations (on the U.S. taxpayers’ dime) has actually been quite mild by any objective standard, is an “anti-Semite,” is positively absurd.