Poizner to Whitman: Who are you really?

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Sunday’s gubernatorial debate became a game of Find the Conservative as both Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner highlighted the other’s past moderate positions and Democratic endorsements.

Poizner asked Whitman, ‘How does your endorsement of Al Gore in 2000, your support of Barbara Boxer in 2004 -- how does all that’ fit into being a Republican?

Whitman responded with what appeared to be a scripted attack on Poizner. ‘Steve is an engineer. He engineers a new position for every office he’s running for.’

Whitman said she had endorsed George Bush and blamed an erroneous newspaper report for saying she backed Gore in 2000.

Whitman pointed out that Poizner ‘wrote a $21,000 check for Al Gore’ in 2000. Poizner has said in the past that the check was from his wife and that he, too, backed Bush.

-- Anthony York