MAGAZINE

India Abroad December 20, 2013

The International Weekly Newspaper

Neel Kashkari and the run for Governor of California

Wall Street to Main Street

LARRY DOWNING/REUTERS

THE MAGAZINE
India Abroad December 20, 2013

WALL STREET TO MAIN STREET

M3

Fundamentally different from what Republicans and Democrats have done

e may have not formally declared his intent to run for the governorship of California yet, but Neel Kashkari, 40 once dubbed the $700 billion man for administering the Treasurys bailout of the nations leading banks under the Troubled Asset Relief Program for all intents and purposes, has been in campaign mode for nearly a year. He has been crisscrossing the state and traveling across the country, meeting with potential donors and financiers and the hierarchy of the GOP establishment, receiving their blessings and pledges of support, and is already talking like a winner whos prevailed in the Republican primary and is rearing to go toe-to-toe with the Democratic incumbent Jerry Brown, 76. Brown is highly likely to run for re-election, much to the chagrin of California Attorney General Kamala Devi Harris, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsome, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa all of whom, according to sources, had been exploring a gubernatorial run but were said to be frustrated that Brown had no intention of vacating the post. Kashkari has already met with the likes of former President George W Bush, in whose administration he served as an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, his former boss and mentor Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, former Florida governor Jeb Bush and former Indiana governor Mitch Daniels, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and a host of other GOP heavyweights, who have all promised to back him to the hilt. He has also been arming himself with facts and figures and policy formulations by meeting with policy wonks at leading think tanks and education institutions, ranging from the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC to the Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has met more than 700 potential donors in California and across the country, including Indian-American Silicon Valley heavyweights. Sources have said he already has pledges to the tune of $10 million. He could use this to drown out the message of his primary GOP challengers with their anemic resources and have plenty left over to take on Brown, who also has a campaign chest of $10 million leftover from 2010 when he thrashed Meg Whitman, the former eBay chief executive officer, in a landslide despite her $144 million campaign. But its not just the fat cats Kashkari has been cultivating. His grass-roots activism has extended to spending nights at homeless shelters, picking strawberries in fields, working in the docks, volunteering at food

Neel Kashkari, the $700 billion man, is in campaign mode for the governorship of California. He tells Aziz Haniffa why his message will resonate across party lines, race and the socio-economic spectrum

Neel Kashkari as the Acting US Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Financial Stabilization testifies before the Domestic Policy Subcommittee hearing about the Troubled Asset Relief Program on Capitol Hill in 2009. The post earned him the moniker $700 billion man.
LARRY DOWNING/REUTERS

banks, marching with over 80,000 Sikhs at the Yuba City parade, interacting with students in indigent and minority neighborhoods and, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, even worshipping at a Pentecostal Church in South Los Angeles.

The former Wall Street banker, who cut his teeth at Goldman Sachs, has also been scrupulously using social media to get his exploratory message out. And, as any serious candidate would do, he has deployed some of the leading hired

guns in the political business from both former Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romneys campaign and also operatives from former California Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggers team, including the latters Communications Director Aaron McLear as his spokesman. According to McLear, who also doesnt want to let on when Kashkari will officially declare his intent to run for governor, Hes doing exactly what he said he was going to do which was travel the state, learn about the challenges and see how he can best help. Carla Marrinucci, the most plugged in political columnist in the Bay area who writes the popular The Spin Cycle in the San Francisco Chronicle, has said the Democrats have been watching Kashkaris stealth campaign with bemusement and not been averse to snide jabs. She quoted Democratic campaign strategist and Jerry Browns political spokesman Dan Newman as saying, A Goldman Sachs guy appointed by Bush to ran TARP? I guess the head of IRS wasnt available. Marrinucci also said that according to pollster Ben Tulchin, Kashkari would be pummeled in the solid-blue California as the Bush guy who led the bailout of Wall Street, and would have to explain how they successfully bailed out banks whole the homeowners got stuck. Others have said that while the progressives and moderates in the Republican Party led by the likes of Jeb Bush would like to show off Kashkari as the new face of the GOP a party that is diverse and encourages a big tent it wouldnt be easy to appease the partys conservative base, considering his track record as the one who oversaw the bailout. Also, these conservatives wouldnt take too kindly to Kashkari who has said hes pro-choice, supports same-sex marriage and voted for Obama in 2008. An Indian-American heavyweight in Silicon Valley, who recently brought together some leading Indian-American Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to listen to Kashkari and pledge their support, told India Abroad that although defeating Brown would certainly be an uphill if nigh impossible task, Even if he loses, he will get major name ID and recognition, and if the Republicans take the White House in 2016, you bet he will be up for a senior administration post, maybe even a cabinet job, perhaps Treasury Secretary. It could also be a launching pad for a future, more viable run in 2018 for the governorship, and who knows, even a run for the US Senate. In his first interview with a South Asian newspaper and any media outlet outside California, Kashkari spoke to India Abroad about what pushed him to consider a gubernatorial run in 2014 and why he is a candidate with a difference.

M4

M4

WALL STREET TO MAIN STREET

THE MAGAZINE
India Abroad December 20, 2013

Who is NEEL KASHKARI?

Neel Kashkari was born and raised in Stow, a suburb of Akron, Ohio. His parents, Chaman and Sheila Kashkari, were born and raised in Srinagar. His father completed his masters degree and PhD at the University of Michigan and then earned a faculty position at the University of Akron as an electrical engineering professor. His mother, a physician, works at the Akron City Hospital. His older sister, Neera, is a physician in North Carolina. Kashkari is a 1991 graduate of the Western Reserve Academy in Hudson. He did his graduate studies at the University of Illinois, and while he was a graduate student majoring in aerospace engineering, had helped develop a solar-powered race car. Bloomberg News in a recent profile said, according to Bill Mottice, Kashkaris seventh-grade teacher in Stow, this talent and interest in automobiles and engineering had showed itself earlier, as did his intellectual curiosity. He is interested in problems and solutions, it said, quoting Mottice, who has remained in contact with his former student. Kashkari later got himself an MBA from the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School of Business and joined Goldman Sachs, quickly rising to the position of the companys vice president in San Francisco, and a protg of the companys CEO Henry Paulson, who was appointed by President George W Bush to be his Treasury Secretary. Paulson appointed him Interim Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability. Kashkari was 35 when his former mentor asked him to manage the governments $700 billion TARP rescue plan. At the time The Washington Post, wrote, how overnight, Kashkari became the face of the biggest, and one of the most controversial market interventions in American history. Kashkari remained in charge of TARP until May 2009, three months into the Obama administration. Then he and his then-wife, Minal, since divorced, retreated to their three-bedroom house on 20 acres in Truckee, California, near Lake Tahoe. It prompted a WashPo profile talking about how he was chopping wood and building a shed in this ranch house of his as part of a Washington detox. Soon after that Pacific Investment Management Company, the Newport Beach, California-based firm with $1.97 trillion under management, said it was hiring Kashkari to manage an expansion into stocks in its global equities division. Kashkari left PIMCo earlier this year to explore a run for governor of California.
JIM YOUNG/REUTERS

M3
When the rumor started circulating that you were contemplating a run for California governor people were surprised, I guess because they didnt comprehend you as a political animal. What made you seriously explore running for public office, particularly this office? I feel blessed. My parents came to America 50 years ago from India. My family wasnt wealthy, but I had a huge advantage because my parents were highly educated and they made sure that my sister and I got a good education. Because I got a good education, all of the opportunities of America have been opened to me and thats what makes America great. But if you look in California, Californians are struggling our schools are ranked 46th in America, almost one in five Californians, either have no job or are stuck in a part-time job. If you put these two things together, California has the highest poverty rate in percentage terms in America. I looked at this and said we need to make major changes in our state so that millions of people are not being left behind. I looked around the state and said, Where are the candidates who are really going to push to make these major changes? I didnt see any.

Fundamentally different from what Republicans and Democrats have done

Frankly, I said if no one else is going to go fight to turn the state around, so that everybody can get a fair chance, I feel like I have to go do it. Thats really why I am looking at this. How do you go from Wall Street to Main Street? How do you counter criticism sure to come that you are a carpetbagger who has come to California and now wants to run for governor? I first moved to California in 1998 when I was an aerospace engineer developing technology for NASA. So, California has been my home for the last 15 years. Granted I went to Washington for three years, but I was still a California voter during those times; so California is my home. My background is that of a normal kid growing up in an immigrant family in America. My family was not wealthy. My father was a professor of engineering in the University of Akron (Ohio). He dedicated his life and research to try to eradicate poverty in villages in India and in Africa. I remember (while) growing up that was always present in my household; he was always talking about his work around the world. When I was in high school, he got an award from President George Herbert Walker Bush the Presidential End Hunger Award. I got to go with him and my family to the White House to see him receive this award. So, for me, being the son of immigrants from India, running on a platform about fixing schools and empowering those who have been left behind, thats fundamentally different from what Republicans have done and quite frankly, what Democrats have done. I think its necessary that someone brings bold economic ideas to reach those who have fallen behind. When people look at the substance of what I am doing and where I am spending my time, they are going to see why I am different. How do you counter what some people may perceive as the TARP guy that probably is how many still know you as jumping into the political fray and running for governor right off the bat? Surely, this is something your critics would hammer you with. I would argue that I am one of the only people who worked for both President Bush and President Obama and that we got Republicans and Democrats to work together to tackle the worst economic crisis in 80 years. We got both party leaders to put the country ahead of their own political interests and under my watch we deployed a little over $400 billion. What most people dont realize is that we got every penny of that back and we even made an almost $50 billion profit for the taxpayer off the banks. So, tackling this terrible economic crisis in a completely bipartisan manner and protecting the taxpayer, I believe people will realize that that experience is good training to tackle the major issues in California. Is the GOP solidly behind you? You recently attended the California GOP convention and pumped hands, networked and interacted.

M5

THE MAGAZINE
India Abroad December 20, 2013

WALL STREET TO MAIN STREET

M5

M4
But are the kingmakers and rainmakers like Karl Rove (GOP policy advisor), etc, in touch with you? More importantly do they see you as a viable candidate? I am talking to several Republican leaders throughout the state and throughout the country. President George W Bush was one of the first people I solicited, and got his advice. Mitch Daniels has been very helpful. Also, Jeb Bush has been very helpful in educational reform, and Condi Rice out here in California. Ive been meeting with Republican leaders and they are all excited about the ideas and the focus on the issues. If you think about the millions of people who are being left behind, the Democratic Party has not done much, when you think about it. They talk big words and theyve talked about big social programs. Meanwhile, the Republican Party has ignored largely ignored people falling behind. My message of bringing economic opportunity through good education and a job and a chance to work hard, I believe, is something thats going to excite Republicans, not just around California, but around the country and be able to broaden our tent so that many more people are joining us. All the feedback that Ive got so far from Republicans around the state and around the country, have been very, very positive. President Bush, Jeb Bush and I am sure Hank Paulson having been your former mentor and boss, are supportive of you. Have you gotten their blessings have they in a sense said their endorsement of you is a no-brainer if you run? I havent gotten to the stage of asking for formal endorsements, but theyve made themselves exceptionally available to me, calling people on my behalf, making introductions, and most importantly, sharing their policy solutions. If you look at what Jeb Bush has done in Florida The great news is that we know how to fix these problems. There are some things in the world we dont know how to solve; we dont know a cure for cancer, even though we are spending billions of dollars looking for it. But we know how to fix schools Jeb Bush has done it in Florida. We know how to grow the economy and create jobs; Jeb Bush has done it, Mitch Daniels has done it. These experienced governors are giving me their best ideas from around the country to California. Are your twin goals and your key campaign themes, once you launch the campaign, going to be poverty alleviation and education? Absolutely. Its all about education and jobs. To me, its education and jobs thats going to be the only way to break the cycle of poverty. People ask me is this trickle-down economics and I say, No, its the opposite of trickle-down economics. If we fix our state so that those people who have the most disadvantages can still get a good education and still get a decent job and a chance to work hard, then we know that everyone in the state will succeed. So, we start at the bottom and we help lift everyone up.

Fundamentally different from what Republicans and Democrats have done

PROLOGUE TO A GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN

mantra of every one who runs for political office. Why should Indian Americans and the broader South Asian American community support you, besides the fact that you have a common heritage with them? Because our community Indians in America or South Asians in America have benefited so much from America. A few weeks ago, I went to this Yuba City parade, which was the Punjabi parade, where there were over 80,000 Punjabis. It was an amazing thing to see. Only in America are South Asians so welcome, where they can preserve their culture and their heritage and yet be welcomed to our communities and they get a chance to get a good education and work hard. So I feel that most South Asians agree, most Indians agree, that we have a duty to give back to America, and we have a duty to help everybody in America enjoy the same privileges and opportunities that weve had. If I run for office, do I want the Indian community and the South Asian community to support me because I am of a South Asian heritage? Absolutely. But I really want them to support me because helping those folks whove been left behind is the right thing to do and it benefits everyone. Every single person that we move from welfare to work, we get a two for one benefit in our budget because the negative needing state support becomes a posi-

Neel Kashkari has connected with the grassroots this year. Among other things he has picked strawberries in fields, right; volunteered at food banks, above; marched with over 80,000 Sikhs at the Yuba City parade, top; interacted with students in indigent and minority neighborhoods; spent nights at homeless shelters and worked in the docks. I believe besides President Bush, Jeb Bush, Mitch Daniels, Condi Rice and the Republican leadership, you also recently met some leading community leaders and Silicon Valley heavyweights? How was the response? So far, the response has been wonderful. You know as I do, that the Indian community has a long history of focusing on education and on reaching those who are falling behind. I believe its not only my upbringing watching my parents but its also my Indian heritage that I am able to express with this platform. Indians of all stripes Democrats, Republicans, Independents have said to me that if your platform is educating and empowering people, we are excited by that and we dont care what party you are. So, the feedback has been great. Granted Indian Americans are all for education and empowerment, but this is the

tive. I believe my message is going to resonate across race, it will resonate across party lines and across the socio-economic spectrum. With your track record with TARP and bailing out the banks, you are not exactly going to be a Tea Party favorite. How do you intend to co-opt the conservative base in the GOP to support you? I am excited by the Tea Party because it represents people who are passionate about getting involved in government and being active participants in the political process. I believe thats good and we need more

M10

M10

WALL STREET TO MAIN STREET

THE MAGAZINE
India Abroad December 20, 2013

Fundament ally different from what Republicans and Democrats have done
M5
Americans to be actively involved in government of all stripes, number one. Number two, the ideas that I am developing education reform and a strong economy and economic growth and empowerment these are ideas that Republicans of all stripes are rallying behind. So, I am meeting with a lot of conservative activists and I say to them, I want to fix the schools, I want to grow the economy, I want to create jobs, and I dont think government spending is the solution. I believe its getting people skills and letting them work hard. The Tea Party people love that and say that its a great solution. I feel the two issues that I am focused on narrowly focused on jobs and education will resonate with virtually all Republicans as well as Independents and even moderate Democrats. But lets face it: Most of your support thus far has been from the moderate, progressive, Republicans, who are sort of an endangered species now. How do you bring the conservative base with you when they point out that youve got the likes of Jeb Bush and everyone else who belongs to this middle-of-the-road, non-confrontational Republicans, who dont want to go head-to-head with the Democrats on these issues, including social issues? California is different from the rest of the country. So you are right, the politics of, for example, Jeb Bush, if he were to run for president, would have to face a very different landscape than what California looks like. Right now in California, the Republican Party has been under a lot of stress, a lot of challenges, and the Democrats have a supermajority in both the legislative bodies they have every state-wide office. So, what Ive found is that a lot of Republicans are saying, Listen, we need to focus on those issues that we have in common that unite us and take that message forward because we need to be relevant again. A lot of Republicans have said to me, you know what, this may not have been the optimal platform four years ago or eight years ago, but the ideas that you are pushing forward today make a lot of sense today and we can get behind that. You have still got a primary challenge where the Tea Party has got its own favorite and there are also a couple of others in the fray. How do you intend to overcome this primary challenge because thats where the nitty-gritty is going to be played up in terms of progressives, conservatives, middle-of-the roaders, etc, and compounding all this would be that youll be portrayed as the Wall Street and TARP guy who bailed out the banks? Sure, but two things. One is, and you probably know this, the law has now changed and its an open primary where everyone can be on the ballot together and everyone votes together. There is no longer separate Republican and Democratic primary. So, that may change the dynamic for more crossover votes. Number two and you can dig up this data Tim Donnelly (from Twin Peaks, California) is one of the candidates who is running and he is the Tea Party favorite, and in nine months of active campaigning, hes raised I may get the number wrong about $100,000. Abel Maldanado (a former lieutenant governor and a rancher from Santa Maria), the other candidate, in six to nine months of active campaigning, has raised about $300,000 or $400,000. So, unless either of them is able to raise the resources to get their name out there, its really going to come down to fundraising. If I can out-fundraise them, then well be in a very strong position to get our message out and reach conservatives as well as moderates throughout the state. So far, in the last 11 months, Ive met with almost 700 donors around California and around the country and I feel, from the feedback I am getting, that if I run, well be able to raise the financial resources that we need to be competitive, not just in the primary, but in the general. It seems your strategy going by your confidence that youve already got a critical mass of financiers donors, whove pledged their support is to completely out-flank and

Neel Kashkari lives in a three-bedroom home in Laguna Beach overlooking a cove by the Pacific Ocean with his 150-pound Newfoundland dogs, Winslow, left, and Newsome, right, named after the stars of the Cleveland Browns football team, which he has said has been his favorite NFL team since his days of growing up in Ohio.

COURTESY: FACEBOOK.COM/NEELKASHKARI

We have a duty to give back to America, and we have a duty to help everybody in America enjoy the same privileges and opportunities that weve had.
overwhelm these guys in terms of fund-raising and drown out their message with yours? I dont know about completely out-flanking them, but the feedback that Ive been getting is that well be able to raise enough money to be very competitive, both in the primary and if we can get through the primary then in the general. I am not yet a candidate, so I have not raised a dollar yet. That needs to come. But the feedback I have been getting has been very positive and thats what gives me a great deal of optimism. All the donors I have been meeting with have been very encouraging. All the grassroots communities Ive gone into have been wonderful, and talking to the best policy minds in the country has convinced me that we know how to fix these problems and can bring big solutions so that every kid in California can get a good education and people have a chance to get a decent job and work hard. Those are the three things that I continue to work at and so far, I am feeling very optimistic. Would you be pumping in any of your own money too? No. Its funny people think that because I worked on Wall Street, I am this billionaire. I am very comfortable, but I dont have enough money to finance this campaign. I will have to go and raise the money from donors across the country who care about these issues and who want to turn California around. How do you live down the fact that you voted for Obama? Wont that be another chink in your armor? With the truth, which is, the only time in my life I voted for a Democrat for President was in 2008. The first time I voted was for George Herbert Walker Bush in 1992 when he was running for re-election against Bill Clinton. The reason I voted for Obama was because my job at Treasury was to stave off the great depression and prevent an economic collapse and at Treasury we had a lot of exposure to both campaigns and we were keeping both the McCain campaign and the Obama campaign abreast of what we were doing because we wanted their support we didnt want them to be attacking us when we were negotiating with Congress. While honestly, I deeply admire and respect John McCain, I couldnt believe the difference in the quality of economic advice that Barack Obama was getting from what John McCain was receiving from his team. So, I felt that Barack Obama was better equipped to handle the acute economic crisis in 2008. Thats why I voted for Obama. Now, I think that was true. He continued all of President Bushs programs that we started under the TARP and he asked me to stay and we continued to complete the programs. We stabilized the economy, we got the money back. Now, I dont agree with President Obama on his broader economic agenda that is very disappointing. I also believed Obama when he said he was going to bring both parties together. I believed him and he didnt do that. I watched him become, in my opinion, a partisan warrior where hes battled the politics much more than healing the country and thats why I supported Mitt Romney in 2012.

M11

THE MAGAZINE
India Abroad December 20, 2013

WALL STREET TO MAIN STREET

M11

Fundamentally different from what Republicans and Democrats have done

M10
How will the changing demographics in California affect your campaign? I am spending a huge amount of my time in poor communities across California in Latino communities, in African American communities, in Asian communities, literally sleeping in homeless shelters, picking strawberries in the fields, going to schools in the poorest neighborhoods. What has been amazing is when I go into these communities, people couldnt care less that I am Republican. They are so shocked that someone is there who genuinely wants to learn what their life is like. Mitt Romney had these unfortunate words about 47 percent when he ran for President. The campaign I would run would turn that upside down where heres a young Republican son of immigrants who looks different, whose entire campaign is focused on getting to know, reaching out to those communities that are left behind and empowering them with good education and a good job. Reaching the changing demographics of California is going to be the core of the campaign I would run.

The filmmaker who created Dhoom

M9
Once the film is in post production, he obviously checks, but only at the end. He is an ideal producer, fantastic to work with. He has a sharp mind. In 2003, we were making Dhoom. The cast was John Abraham, who had just one hit in Jism, Abhishek Bachchan, who had eight to nine flops, and Uday Chopra, whose Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai with Rs 8 crore (Rs 80 million or $1.6 million then) budget earned Rs 20 to 25 crore (Rs 200 million to Rs 250 million or $4 million then to $5 million then) but still, he had not arrived like Shah Rukh Khan. Esha Deol had flops; Rimi Sen only had a hit in Hungama. With such a cast, Adi spent around Rs 10 to 11 crore (Rs 100 million to 110 million or $2 million then to $2.1 million then) on a genre of film (action) the company is not comfortable with. If any other filmmaker had made it, he would have spent just Rs 2.5 crore (Rs 25 million or $500,000 then). If the budget had been less, the film could not have turned out the way it did. That is the sixth sense of Aditya Chopra. He gives a film the best chance. If it doesnt work, he moves on. After you left Yash Raj Films, you directed Kidnap and Ajab Gazabb Love, and neither did well. What went wrong? I have learnt one good thing from Aditya Chopra: You select a particular story that excites you, get stars and shoot it and make a film out of it. The excitement level and conviction in each of my six films is the same, that I am a making a kickass movie. Some films work and some dont. I know whats gone wrong with my films because I analyze my films more than anyone. But there is no point talking about it. I work equally hard on all my films. In fact, I worked harder on Kidnap because that was the first one after Dhoom 2 and I was out of Yash Raj. The success of the film doesnt depend on how hard you have worked or how good the music was, or how big the publicity and release were. It is the mixture of a lot of things. With Yash Raj, you were a hit filmmaker and your next three films were flops. Wouldnt it have been wiser to sign another three-film deal with Yash Raj? You are bang on right as far as my hits and flops are concerned. But dont evaluate my career now. When I have finished my career, and made 14 films then say whether I was a flop director. You cant evaluate Rajkumar Hiranis career as he is just three films old. But people call him the greatest filmmaker of all time. He is my friend and edited my first film. He is shocked when people talk about him like that. What are you working on right now? I am not working on anything. I am just looking for stories that will excite me.

PARESH GANDHI

Neel Kashkari was an impressive presence at this years India Abroad Person of the Year event in New York. Silicon Valley says they need more engineers and yet farmers in California say they need more workers. We should reform our policies to encourage those needs. And, finally, we need to enforce the law. There is no point having any policies, no matter how thoughtful if it goes unenforced. So, we need to enforce the law at the border and in the cities and in the businesses. These are my basic principles and I believe the Senate bill is a reasonable starting place. There are a lot of details to be worked out, but it needs to be dealt with nationally for the entire country, and we need to recognize the huge contribution immigrants make to America. Do you feel that there should be one comprehensive immigration bill or are you of the opinion that there could be a couple of separate bills where for instance PhD, masters candidate among foreign students, particularly in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) subjects, should have Green Cards stamped to their graduate degrees as some Republican lawmakers in the US Senate and House have argued? Id love giving masters and PhD students in the STEM green cards. The idea that we are educating people here at Stanford and MIT and then sending them home is crazy. Whether Congress wants to do this in a package or a few packages, Id defer to them, but thats a great idea that we absolutely need to be advocating for. Once you launch your campaign, will you endeavor to get the likes of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to endorse you? Have you sent out feelers to them? If I make the decision to run, and I am very, very seriously considering it. I will continue to reach out to governors across the country, including Governor Jindal, including Governor Haley and solicit not only their support but also importantly, their advice. Both matter. So, yes, absolutely. How did your parents and your sibling feel about you exploring a career in politics? They are excited. They didnt know what to think. When I gave up my job at Goldman Sachs to go to Treasury, honestly people thought I was crazy But in 2006, when I decided to do it, to me, it was a once in a lifetime chance to serve our country and give something back and learn how government works. So my parents are used to me pursuing my passions wherever they lead me. If you do run and win the Republican primary, Governor Jerry Brown, who is likely to seek re-election has got a tremendous infrastructure a massive war-chest, support of trade unions, and the Democratic establishment party machinery. How are you going to fight a battle with a guy who, many say, would overwhelm you and drown you, with early polls indicating that none of the Republican challengers would pose a challenge to him? That would certainly be what he tries to do. But heres the thing. Twenty-three percent Californians live in poverty today. I like and respect Governor Brown and I think hes competent and presiding over the status quo. But the status quo is horrible for millions of Californians. What I would want to do is make this campaign about the millions of Californians that have fallen behind that dont have a job today so that when he attacks me, I will say, you talk to them, you tell them that they really have a good shot, when they know they dont. They will be who I will be fighting for. How do you also counter another argument about your judgment that youve deployed the likes of Aaron McLear to be your main spokesman when hes the guy who worked for (then Republican Governor Arnold) Schwarzenegger and was Arnolds chief communications guy? Governor Schwarzenegger was someone who was not a partisan guy. He worked with anybody to try to bring solutions. I respect Governor Schwarzenegger. I dont think he was successful as we all hoped he would be, but he certainly was not an ideologue. I will work with anybody of any party who wants to bring solutions to this state, just like I did in Washington.

I would argue that I am one of the only people who worked for both President Bush and President Obama and that we got Republicans and Democrats to work together to tackle the worst economic crisis in 80 years.
Whats your take on the Senate immigration bill by the bi-partisan Gang of Eight? Its a reasonable start. To me, this needs to be solved at the national level. Each state going their own way doesnt make any sense. But I have four different principles that govern how I think about immigration. Number one, the status quo is a disaster and while we should aim for perfection, lets not expect perfection lets make it better. Number two, we have 12 or 13 million who are here illegally today. We are never going to deport them. So, we should not talk about deporting them. I want 12 or 13 million more taxpayers in America that means they need some form of legal status so they can file their taxes. Number three, immigration is a huge competitive edge for America the fact that people want to come here. We should reform our immigration laws to put priority in the skills that we need in our economy.