Is Fresno the new Detroit? Apparently, Meg Whitman thinks so. "Fresno looks like Detroit. It's awful," she said to the San Jose Mercury News editorial board on Tuesday. Well, then!
Outraged parties couldn't speak up fast enough. A spokeswoman for the mayor of Detroit fired back, accusing Whitman of profiting at the expense of downtrodden cities.
An editorial cartoonist in Detroit pointed out that as a member of the board of Goldman Sachs, Whitman helped create the economic downturn that's hitting cities like Detroit. And Central Valley state senator Dean Florez accused Whitman of stigmatizing the town.
With missteps like these, it's no wonder Whitman is reluctant to speak to the press.
This latest gaffe may give Jerry Brown the edge he needs. Currently, Brown and Whitman are tied.
Meanwhile, Carly Fiorina and Barbara Boxer, who were for some time in a statistical dead heat, have moved ever-so-slightly apart. Boxer's lead has increased to six percentage points -- still very, very close.
