German Lawmakers Approve Broadened EFSF

BERLIN—As a blockbuster deal to resolve the spreading euro-zone debt crisis eluded European leaders on Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the swooning euro currency got a boost when German lawmakers backed a resolution approving leveraging models for the euro zone's bailout fund.

The euro surged in currency trading immediately following the announcement that Germany's Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, approved the resolution with a majority of 503 lawmakers out of a total of 596. Ms. Merkel's own coalition carried the vote with 311 votes, the absolute minimum needed for the coalition to achieve its own majority and not rely on borrowing votes from the opposition.

The vote represents broad support for Ms. Merkel to continue pressing for a comprehensive bailout package that includes involvement of private-sector investors and tough economic and fiscal reforms in weakened euro-zone member countries. But it also demonstrates how thin support for further bailouts has become within Ms. Merkel's center-right coalition of Christian Democrats, the Christian Social Union of Bavaria and pro-business Free Democrats.

Touching on a theme that she has repeated throughout the crisis, Ms. Merkel said Europe mustn't waste the opportunity it has now to correct mistakes made at the creation of the euro. Germany is pushing for a number of changes to European treaties and the currency union to promote integration of euro-zone fiscal policies and get other euro-zone members to commit to a German-style debt brake that would force national governments to balance their budgets.

"We have to seize this opportunity now or never to correct the architectural flaws made when economic and monetary union was created," Ms. Merkel told parliament. "And if we correct these mistakes now, then we will have grasped the opportunity in this crisis."

To ensure broad support, Ms. Merkel's conservative alliance reached out to the opposition to draft a multiparty resolution. Lawmakers thus gave broad parliamentary backing for a plan to boost the lending capacity of the European Financial Stability Facility, or EFSF, to more than €1 trillion by allowing the fund to insure new bonds for weakened euro-zone member states and to create an investment vehicle to attract private investment in euro-zone bonds.

Lawmakers warned about potential risks and insisted that Ms. Merkel ensure there will be no increase in the €211 billion worth of guarantees that Germany has pledged for the EFSF.

Lawmakers also pressed Ms. Merkel to push banks considered systemically relevant to raise core capital to 9% by a deadline of June 30, 2012 and urged her to insist on an end to the European Central Bank's program of purchasing euro-zone bonds on the open market to prop up weakened euro-zone members as soon as the EFSF is launched. German lawmakers also called for a clear European commitment to the ECB's independence.

"We don't want the ECB to purchase such bonds in the future," said Volker Kauder, head of the parliamentary group of Ms. Merkel's alliance of CDU and CSU conservatives.

In the resolution, which was drafted by all the major parties in the Bundestag, German lawmakers also urged Ms. Merkel to work toward introducing a European-wide financial transaction tax after the meeting of G-20 leaders in Cannes next month.

The German vote came as talks between European Union negotiators and European banks appeared to be stuck. At issue was a voluntary writedown on Greek bonds that would hit private-sector investors harder than agreed at a summit in July, a prospect that is meeting with resistance from banks.

The deal made in July has been overtaken by economic realities, Ms. Merkel said. The situation in Greece has deteriorated and so the July agreement is no longer applicable, she said. Instead, private investors must bear a larger share of losses and must also increase their capital as a way of creating a firewall against the spread of financial contagion.

"Whoever is in favor of having private creditors participate in improving Greece's debt sustainability must also ensure that protection against contagion is also part of the deal. Anything else would be negligent," Ms. Merkel said. "No one should be too big to fail ever again."

Anti-illegal immigration bill stokes backlash in Alabama fields

Farmers fearing a labor shortage are protesting recent immigration laws they say are too harsh, forcing undocumented workers to flee to prevent deportation. They say US workers are unwilling to endure the rigorous conditions of farm work and that state legislators need to come up with solutions to prevent local agribusiness from going under.
More than 100 farmers and three state representatives in Alabama responded to the recent enactment of a slate of anti-illegal immigration laws by holding a public hearing this week in Oneonta, about 35 miles northeast of Birmingham. The farmers complained that they were already seeing laborers pack up and leave the state.

The new immigration laws will result in a $40 million hit to the state’s economy, with 10,000 illegal workers, each making about $5,000 a year, set to leave, according to a report released this week by the University of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research.

Could you pass a US citizenship quiz?

Farmers are routinely the first to criticize immigration-reform efforts that target illegal workers, says Leo Chavez, a labor and immigration expert at the University of California, Irvine.

“If you get tough on undocumented immigrants, they lose their main labor force,” Mr. Chavez says.

There are already signs of an exodus in Alabama. The majority of school districts say that they’ve experienced a sharp drop in attendance of Hispanic students, a trend that prompted at least one superintendent to record a plea to parents that is airing continuously on a local Spanish-language television station.

Among its many measures, the new legislation in Alabama requires public-school officials to document which schoolchildren are not documented, plus it empowers law-enforcement officials to require documentation when people are pulled over for routine traffic stops.

Lawmakers at the farmers' hearing all said they stood by their support of the measures but said there were opportunities to tweak it to accommodate agribusiness concerns next session. In talking with the Birmingham News Thursday, state Rep. Jeremy Oden (R) said one solution was a temporary-worker program that would allow workers from outside the US to work here seasonally.

US Rep. Lamar Smith (R) of Texas is proposing a similar measure at the federal level, which would allow as many as 500,000 seasonal workers into the country each year. Yet many agribusiness leaders say guest-worker programs like these are costly, because they often require farmers to foot the bill for housing and other costs.
Advocates for immigration reform insist that the ultimate solution is for farmers to market their jobs to US workers, an approach they say would resonate at a time of high unemployment rates and a troubled economy.
Yet agribusiness leaders say US workers are not accustomed to farm work and would drive up costs by demanding higher pay and benefits.

This debate is also raging in Georgia, where farmers are protesting an immigration bill passed in the spring that is similar to the one in Alabama. Among its measures is a requirement forcing businesses with 10 employees or more to use a federal database to verify that each worker is allowed to work in the state legally.

Industry groups representing farming, poultry, construction, and tourism interests say the new law will result in millions of lost dollars for the state economy. The Georgia Department of Agriculture reports that this year’s harvest was short 11,000 workers, which farming advocates say was the result of Mexican immigrants leaving the state.

A labor shortage of 5,244 workers in seven of the state’s primary crops – blueberry, blackberry, Vidalia onion, bell pepper, squash, cucumber, and watermelon – resulted in a $75 million loss, according to the University of Georgia Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development.

The losses are “pretty significant,” says John McKissick, an agricultural economist at the University of Georgia. He says farmers participating in the survey say “they will either reduce acreage next year or reduce their harvest” as a result.

Georgia officials are countering the potential loss in labor by directing the Department of Corrections to create a voluntary program that will identify 100,000 former convicts who are currently on probation to receive consideration for agriculture jobs. A pilot program is currently underway involving three farms in southwest Georgia.

Complaints by farmers that US-born workers are often unreliable and demand higher wages is something that Chavez says, “might have been anticipated” by lawmakers drafting the reform measures. He proposes that one solution might be for future legislation to exempt agricultural workers entirely. However, even that proposal might not convince laborers it is safe to remain in the state.

“It’s very difficult. The message you’re sending out is, ‘We don’t want you here, and we’re going to make your life difficult.’ If you are a worker who is mobile, which is classic for undocumented workers, you’re going to think that maybe there’s a greener pasture somewhere else,” he says.

Epstein in holding pattern

The Theo Epstein saga appeared to be going into extra innings Tuesday after the Cubs and Boston failed to decide on compensation for Epstein's services.

With the World Series starting Wednesday, the Cubs will be prohibited from making an announcement until its conclusion without the permission of Major League Baseball.

The earliest a deal could be announced is Friday, the first of two off days in the Series, and only if Commissioner Bud Selig believes it won't take away any of the spotlight from the Cardinals and Rangers.

Ranges outfielder Josh Hamilton seemed to be speaking for both sides on Tuesday when, according to Foxsports.com, he said the focus needs to be on the teams in the Series, not the Red Sox.

"Right now, the two teams that got it done are here," Hamilton said. "Hopefully the focus will be on them, not worrying about where Boston is and what they're going to do with their GMs or pitching or whatever."

While Selig allowed the Cubs to announce the Ricketts family as their owners on an off-day during the 2009 World Series, there was just one team involved and it already was known the Rickettses were taking over.

It's possible the deal could drag out until after the Series' conclusion since both sides seemingly have dug in their heels. The Cubs still are hoping to avoid giving up a top prospect like Trey McNutt, while the Red Sox believe they deserve one of the Cubs' best young players in return for one of the most respected executives in the game.

Another twist in the story was revealed Tuesday when Sports Illustrated columnist Jon Heyman reported Epstein is considering bringing Padres general manager Jed Hoyer with him to the Cubs as his top assistant, perhaps with a GM title.

Hoyer, 37, was an assistant to the GM under Epstein in Boston before he became assistant GM in 2005. He became the Padres GM after the 2009 season and executed the Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox deal last winter with Epstein.

Hoyer's assistant, Padres vice-president of Baseball Operations Josh Byrnes, has been widely rumored to be Epstein's top choice as his No. 2 on the Cubs. Byrnes also worked under Epstein with the Red Sox before leaving to become the Diamondbacks' GM, where he worked for current Padres owner Jeff Moorad.

Hoyer is signed through 2013, so the Padres would have to grant permission to the Cubs to talk.

Tom Krasovic, a Padres blogger and veteran beat reporter, said the idea does make some sense, with Byrnes taking over the Padres as the new GM.

"I doubt Moorad would hold up Cubs if they wanted Hoyer and it led to Byrnes becoming SD's GM," Krasovic wrote on Twitter. "Byrnes is like a son to Moorad."

The Cubs declined comment on the Sports Illustrated report.

Despite doomsday scenarios being painted, there are no worries from either the Cubs or Red Sox that a failure to reach accord on compensation will scuttle the deal. The Red Sox believe they have leverage and can afford to wait longer than the Cubs, who need to make some big decisions as soon as the offseason begins.

Red Sox President Larry Lucchino is a veteran negotiator who has worked for the Orioles, Padres and Red Sox, and he got a baseball-only stadium built in San Diego against all odds. Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts won't intimidate Lucchino, and neither side wants to be perceived as the "loser" in the compensation talks.

So while the rest of the nation sits back and watches the drama of the World Series unfold, another intriguing matchup of baseball heavyweights goes on behind doors under a cone of silence.

Who will blink first?
After one week of fruitless discussions, all bets are off.

This 'Mary Poppins' is quick, but still magical

When I last saw "Mary Poppins," in early 2009, the first national tour was brand new. After a rehearsal process that took place entirely in Chicago, the stage-musical version of the movie-musical tale of the magical uber-nanny opened here in front of its producers, Cameron Mackintosh and Disney's Thomas Schumacher, and even one of the famous Sherman brothers who wrote the stunning score. Redesigned for the road, the production lacked the jaw-dropping dimension of the original London production, but it was deftly staged and amply funded (Bob Crowley created lush new designs), it had the original Broadway stars, Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee, and it played in Chicago for months. "Mary Poppins" was warmly received, and rightly so.

Two-and-a-half years have passed; quicker than you can say supercalifragilisticexpilidocious. Most of that original touring cast is flying a kite (or maybe cleaning chimneys) elsewhere. A new flying nanny has returned--not to occupy Grant Park, despite her determination to get the banker patriarch of her family to invest in people rather than those who make money from money, but to mystify a whole new generation who would not have sat still long enough in 2009. And, mercifully, she's still flying all the way to the Gods of the Cadillac Palace, a treat not on display at all of the touring stops.

Shows long on the road develop bad habits and, in the first few minutes, one of the most common of them is on display at "Mary Poppins." I don't know if it's rote muscle-memory, a stage-manager cracking a whip or a collective unconscious desire to get to the bar more quickly, but the first 20 minutes of this show are performed at such break-neck speed that you can only catch about half of the expository lines. And none of them feel particularly organic.
Audience rustles around me suggested many in the target demographic were wondering what was going on--evidence that Nicolas Dromard, the current Burt, may sing and dance with charm, but he needs to remember that Job One for this particular sweep must be about connecting the story to the audience, especially those meeting Ms. P. for the first time at this particular one of eight shows per week.

But once Rachel Wallace shows up and opens her umbrella, and a few of the experienced actors take a breath long enough to sense to look out and see that there are needy neophytes watching, "Mary Poppins" reforms its initial bad behavior.

Wallace may not quite match Brown's astoundingly clear voice (few do, frankly) but her take on the good-but-inscrutable nanny is quite deliciously arch and complex. Disney and Mackintosh take great care with marquee casting and Wallace never falls prey to sentiment. She is, therefore, a fine surrogate P.L. Travers, the reclusive English author who created this iconic figure, and who was determined to show that the best teachers are not just those with compassion, but those who instill both an imperative for self-reliance and, most interestingly of all, an awareness of life's enigmas.

Mary Poppins explains nothing, and, delightfully, you feel that Wallace prefers it that way.

There are some other notably strong performances, including Blythe Wilson's sad-eyed Winifred Banks, Laird Mackintosh's troubled George Banks (he finally kicks in, late in the show), and Janet MacEwen's resonant Bird Woman (she of the "tuppence a bag"). You understand every last word from Rachel Izen's droll Mrs. Brill. Talented as they are, the kids I saw could do to take a breath and pull back further from those insidious Nickelodeon tendencies. Those roles in this particular show are, to say, the least, crucial.

Still, as tours go these days, "Mary Poppins" remains a top-tier attraction, replete with that requisite full Equity cast, a sizable orchestra and a more-than-ample production (long ago, directed by Richard Eyre) that not only delivers many pleasures, but it is beautifully focused on allowing a family to come to a show together and leave believing that they all have enjoyed, and learned something, together.

It's a show that might spark conversation on the way home ("Mom/Dad, why do you work so much?") and that might well result in the kind of positive familial change of which Ms. Poppins would, grudgingly, approve.

Distracted driving eats at trustees in Oak Park

Phil Fitch, an arborist who travels throughout the Chicago area, is in his car much of the workday, which means his automobile is often his dining car.

Fitch was chagrined Wednesday to learn that Oak Park, where he had stopped at a fast-food eatery for lunch, was considering a comprehensive crackdown on distracted drivers, banning everything from using a hand-held cellphone to grooming to eating while driving.

"I put 20,000 miles on my car every year," said Fitch, 29, of Chicago. "I don't really get a lunch break. I have to eat in my car every day."

Research suggests that distracted drivers are involved in 80 percent of collisions or near-crashes, and governments big and small increasingly are addressing the concern by restricting cellphone use and other negligent conduct behind the wheel.

Oak Park is the latest community to target the issue, joining a handful of other Chicago-area communities that have looked at prohibiting a variety of driving distractions — from tending to pets and eating to cellphone use.

The issue of distracted driving, especially what constitutes a distraction, continues to gain momentum nationally. In the past two years, for example, the number of states that ban texting while driving has more than tripled, to 34, including Illinois. Ten states and the District of Columbia have outlawed hand-held cellphone use while driving.

Six years ago, Chicago banned motorists from making cell calls without an earpiece or other hands-free device, then added a prohibition on texting while driving. In 2009, the Chicago Transit Authority cracked down on bus and train operators who use or carry personal cellphones while working.

The campaign about the dangers of distracted driving has even started to target bicyclists. An ordinance proposed in Chicago would ticket riders found texting while pedaling.

A number of communities in the Chicago area, including Antioch, Barrington, Evanston, Highland Park and Kenilworth, have distracted driving ordinances, most mandating hands-free cellphone devices while driving. At least one, Highland Park, allows police to cite a motorist for inattentive driving — it can include operating hand-held computers, reading, grooming or eating — if that driver is pulled over for another violation.

In 2006, Winnetka Police Chief Joseph DeLopez proposed a sweeping ordinance that would have banned the operation of a radio or game, tending to pets, grooming, and eating or drinking, along with talking on a phone. That proposal never passed, but in 2007 Winnetka banned using hand-held phones while driving.

If Oak Park enacts an outright ban on eating while driving, it might become one of the first in the nation to do so. Experts were unaware Wednesday of any community that has such a law.

Oak Park village trustee Colette Lueck, who is initiating the push against distracted driving, said she would like to ban drinking or applying makeup, in addition to eating and cellphone use.

"To me, this is an issue of public safety," she said. "This isn't government overreach; this is the government protecting people. Distracted driving puts everyone on the road in danger."

Lueck raised the concept Monday at a Village Board meeting that focused on public safety after Police Chief Rick Tanksley said distracted driving was an issue. Board members briefly discussed bans on texting and cellphone use — officials had considered it earlier but never brought it to the board — when Lueck took it a step further and said texting shouldn't be the only ticket-worthy activity.

Though texting while driving is illegal in Illinois, Oak Park police said a local ordinance would be easier to enforce. Tickets could be adjudicated at Village Hall.

Other trustees agreed that the village should look at an ordinance that goes beyond texting, but board members said specific discussions on the issue won't occur until early next year.

But trustee Ray Johnson said he was more cautious in considering tickets for eating or applying makeup. Although he supports a texting ban, he said too many things can distract a driver — changing a CD, reaching for a drink or adjusting the volume on the radio — and designating a handful as illegal would be difficult.

"If you take it to the extreme, you could say having kids in the car is a distraction," he said. "But what are you going to do? Some people have to have kids in the car."

The problem with outlawing driving distractions beyond cellphone use is determining which activities relate directly to vehicle crashes, said Russ Rader, vice president for communications at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, based in Arlington, Va.

How Rent-A-Grandma Got Started

Todd Pliss was working as a tutor to child stars like the Jonas Brothers when he started hearing complaints. They weren't about groupies or the paparazzi or bad lighting--they were about child care.

Families who had moved to Los Angeles so their kids could pursue showbiz were frazzled by unprofessional babysitters who didn't show up on time or spent hours on the phone.

"I heard these complaints," Pliss says, "and asked myself, 'Who's more responsible? More mature?' I thought, Hey, grandmas! We all have warm, fuzzy feelings about grandmas. And they don't text or tweet while watching the kids."

Last year Pliss closed the book on tutoring and began recruiting women over 50 for a child-care service he called Rent-A-Grandma. And it took off. Soon, in addition to watching kids, the grandmas were being asked by clients to cook, clean, plan parties and pet-sit, so Pliss expanded the scope of the agency to all domestic services.

After Rent-A-Grandma was profiled on Fox News in March 2011, Pliss received more than 300 calls asking if he was franchising the concept. He decided to give it a shot: In May, he offered franchise territories in 36 states. So far, he has sold units in Dallas and Houston. He hopes to have 15 in operation by year's end and 20 more in 2012.

'Just Win, Baby!': The Legacy of Al Davis, 1929-2011

Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, who died at his home on Saturday morning at 82, was never beloved outside of Raider nation. A fellow owner once called him a "lying creep." He was the George Steinbrenner of football owners: bullying, arrogant – “Just win, baby!” – and during his later years, a subpar talent evaluator. But his innovative football mind, and aggressive executive approach that led the Raiders to three Super Bowl wins, shaped the NFL as we know it. Thanks to Al Davis, the NFL is better. And much more badass.

Davis grew up a Brooklyn tough guy, straight out of central casting, with slicked back-hair and a thick accent (“the Raid-uhs”). He got his first coaching job, at Adelphi College in New York, when he was 21. A decade later, in 1960, Davis joined the offensive staff of Sid Gillman, coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, of the upstart American Football League. Gillman pioneered what became known as the “vertical” passing game – a mix of power running, and deep throws downfield. Sports Illustrated called Davis a “super-duper recruiter” responsible for attracting top talent to the Chargers.

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Davis imported the vertical passing philosophy to the Raiders, who hired him as coach and general manager in 1963, when he was just 33. Before Davis arrived on the East Bay, the Raiders had won just three of their prior 28 games. In his first year, Davis led the Raiders to a 10-4 record, and he was named AFL Coach of the Year.

In 1966, Davis was named commissioner of the AFL. From his position, he started the first of many fights with the NFL establishment. Instead of seeking peace with the NFL, Davis tried to sign some of its top players. He lasted only a few months as commissioner. But his aggression sped up merger talks, since the NFL now realized that its younger rival was a serious competitor. Following the 1966 season, the NFL and AFL champions played the first Super Bowl. By 1970, the leagues had joined forces, giving birth to the modern-day NFL, the most popular pro sports league in the country, a national obsession.

After the AFL, Davis returned to the Raiders as an owner and general manager. In the 1970s, the Raiders mirrored the maverick image of their owner. Davis, hired as a head coach as such a young age, loved tapping energetic, if inexperienced, leaders. In 1969, he gave the Raider job to a linebackers coach named John Madden, who was 32. In their iconic silver and black uniforms, and the eye-patched pirate logo pasted on their helmets, the Raiders won a Super Bowl title in 1977, with bushy-haired quarterback, Kenny “The Snake” Stabler, leading the offense, and a hard-hitting defense featuring players like “Dr. Death,” defensive back Skip Thomas, and “The Assassin,” safety Jack Tatum. ‘I don't want to be the most respected team in the league,” Davis once said. “I want to be the most feared.”

(PHOTOS: Super Bowl Stadiums)

The Oakland Raiders won another Super Bowl  in 1981. Davis filed an anti-trust suit against the NFL in order to move the Raiders to the more lucrative Los Angeles market, and a federal court ruled in his favor. The 1982 season marked the debut of the Los Angeles Raiders. The '83 Raiders won the franchise's third Super Bowl, and later in the decade, influential west coast rappers embraced the team's swagger and black uniforms. Al Davis and hip-hop were unlikely bedfellows. But Davis knew that his team's association with nascent music movement, a cross-cultural hit among younger audiences, could only enhance the Raider brand.

Over the years, Davis filed various lawsuits against the NFL as he tried to acquire better stadiums or other business deals for the Raiders. Since Davis moved the team back to Oakland in 1995, the Raiders have mostly struggled, and Davis' legacy has suffered. From 2003 through 2009, no Raiders team lost fewer than 11 games. In 2008, Davis held a rambling press conference attempting to explain how his recently fired coach, Lane Kiffin, undermined him. Davis seemed faded, and hopelessly out of touch.

Love him or loathe him, Al Davis' impact was undeniable. Before Oakland's last Super Bowl appearance, in 2003, Lomas Brown, a lineman for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was asked about Davis (The Bucs beat the Raiders, 48-21). "Al Davis? C'mon, man,” Brown told the New York Post. “Al? He's the man. He's like the Godfather of the NFL...You know what? I want his autograph...He's a legend, man."

RUGBY WORLD CUP 2011: ENGLAND LOVE UGLY

BEN FODEN has hit out at critics of England’s lack of flair, saying they may not have reached Saturday’s quarter-final against France without “winning ugly”.

England look like sticking with Jonny Wilkinson and Mike Tindall, who are both back in training after injury, with Mark Cueto returning on the left wing in place of the suspended Delon Armitage.

Foden said: “The good thing now is that we can win games by playing ugly. We are winning games by using different weapons.”

HP's Meg Whitman: We're still in the hardware business!

FORTUNE -- It's only day seven on the job at HP, and CEO Meg Whitman is in a hurry.

Speaking at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit Tuesday in Laguna Niguel, California, Whitman stressed the need for decisive immediate leadership at the company. Citing decades of corporate experience--and her recent failed run for California governor--Whitman said she had a clear sense of what the company needed.

"I'm not in search of the manual," she explained. "But there's pacing and sequencing--there are a lot of decisions to be made," she said. And then there are 320,000 employees, many of whom suffer from a bit of what Whitman calls "a bit of post traumatic stress syndrome."

First priority: Whitman plans to integrate the UK software-maker Autonomy, for which it paid $10.3 billion. "It closed today," she said. "We own it and we have to make it work."

And by the end of October, Whitman says HP (HPQ) will make a decision about whether to sell the company's PC division. The consequences of delaying the decision would be disastrous, she explained. Then, with an exaggerated nod to the audience, she said, "To any of you in the audience who buy hardware, we are still in the hardware business!"

Full transcript of the Meg Whitman interview

In August, former HP CEO Leo Apotheker announced a strategic shift for the company: The Autonomy acquisition, the end of the HP Touchpad tablet business, and the possible spin-off of its PC business. He was fired just over a month later.

Whitman, who is a supporter of Governor Mitt Romney in his quest to secure the Republican nomination for president, says she sought his advice when weighing her decision to go to HP. He told her to take it. "It's an opportunity to work for an American icon," she says he told her. It's a company that matters greatly to Silicon Valley and to the world.

The former eBay (EBAY) CEO had almost nothing positive to say about the experience of running for governor of California, but she didn't rule out another run in the future. "I think it would be easier the second time around," Whitman said. She added that her skin is much thicker now that she's been through that experience, and any negative press around her decision to join HP has been comparatively easy to handle.

Any second chance at public office will have to be put on hold until Whitman can effectively steer HP in the right direction -- a process that could take quite a while. In the meantime, she said she'll continue to support Romney but that her priority is HP.