Why is Carly running?

Maybe the better question is why would anyone want to run for public office these days? Her mass email this morning that announces plans to run for U.S. Senate (taking on Barbara Boxer if she gets that far) doesn't provide much help:

Throughout my career I've brought people together and I've solved problems. And that is what is needed in our government today; people who are willing to set aside ego and partisanship and instead work to develop solutions to our problems.

Our most pressing problems today are too few jobs for Americans and too much spending in Washington. As California's Senator, economic recovery and fiscal accountability will be my priorities. I will not settle for a jobless recovery. And we can start the important work of getting our financial house back in order by demanding to know where our money is being spent. Let's put every government budget and every government bill on the Internet for every citizen to see.

Tax, spend and borrow is not a governing philosophy; it's a cycle of dependency and it is one that must be broken. Washington must show the discipline to cut spending and create policies that encourage and empower businesses to put people back to work.

Couldn't she have done better than that? By the way, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO has been battling breast cancer, and her hair is shorn close to her scalp. There will be lots of health questions, no doubt, along with assessments of her not-so-stellar record at HP. Before Boxer, she'll have her hands full in the GOP primary. She announced her candidacy in an OC Register oped. Here's the LAT story.