Poor Meg Whitman.
Am I allowed to write that of a billionaire?
Her chances of becoming California's next governor are diminishing by the moment -- even though she is running against a 72-year-old rerun who spent a lot of time at Saturday's debate talking about his dad and the glory days.
The Whitman campaign is faltering, to be sure, over the fact that she employed an illegal immigrant as her housekeeper for six years after the Social Security Administration sent a letter indicating that something was amiss.
But she has a bigger problem: the Republican Party's litmus tests on illegal immigration.
Understand: I don't believe that Whitman herself agrees with the carefully crafted contradictory stances staked out by campaign consultants.
As Democratic opponent Jerry Brown said more than once in the debate, she's "talking out of both sides of her mouth."
Whitman wants us to believe that an Arizona law cracking down on illegal immigrants is OK for Arizona, but a similar law wouldn't be good for California.
She also wants us to believe that she wouldn't have voted for California's Proposition 187 many years ago -- even though it would've denied public benefits for illegals, a position she says she agrees with.
Confused?
So apparently is Whitman, who chalks up her shifting stances to initially knowing less than she should about the subject and political inexperience.
To read the complete column, visit www.fresnobee.com.