Regardless of what her politics are, I liked what Carly Fiorina said here about Climategate.

This week, diplomats from around the world are gathering in Copenhagen for the global climate change summit--an event that has been marked by controversy in the wake of the "climate-gate" scandal that has recently and rightly gained significant international media attention.

This scandal has provoked many questions that I believe deserve answers. Among other things, it would seem that information relating to climate change research may have been held back from the public-- and key decision-makers, too. This could of course impact the appropriateness and effectiveness of policy that the US, and indeed world leaders, might pursue. Before moving forward, given the potentially significant economic consequences associated with some of the steps under consideration, I personally think it is important to get a handle on all the facts, whether they be good, bad or ugly.

Well, good for Carly Fiorina for saying that!

Naturally, she is taking flak, but if you think it's coming from the left, you're wrong. She is being excoriated in the comments by angry conservatives, who accuse her of being a RINO, a liberal, or like McCain.

I'm sorry, but whether this woman is in fact a RINO or a liberal or like McCain simply has no bearing on whether her thoughts on Climategate are accurate.

I notice that the angry commenters are supporters of Chuck DeVore, who is running against Fiorina in the California Republican primary.

They're so rude that they almost make me feel like sending Fiorina money.

Moreover, the claim that Fiorina is a RINO seems a bit overwrought. DeVore has certainly positioned himself to the right of her, but unless RINO has come to mean being anything less than far right, that does not make her a RINO. Clearly DeVore is more to the liking of the right wing of the California GOP, but as this is politics, what ought to count the most is who has a better chance of beating Barbara Boxer.

GayPatriot thinks Boxer would make mincemeat out of DeVore:

The race for the GOP nomination to take on the spendthrift Mrs. Boxer is not a contest between a mainstream conservative and a liberal Republican, but between two conervatives with different backgrounds and different appeals.

If elected, neither would vote to increase the size of government and limit our freedoms. Each candidate would better serve our state than has Barbara Boxer. The real issue is which one is better suited to defeating her.

Should DeVore win the GOP nomination and misrepresent Boxer's record as he has misrepresented Carly's, the better-funded Boxer attack machine would make mincemeat of him. And that machine would have the support not just of the Democratic Party, but of the California media.

The issue would not be Boxer's record, but DeVore's competence.

Unless the idea is a Long March, I don't see much strategic value in losing.

As to a Long March, what if it loses too?