Carly Fiorina...

...is expected to run for the Republican nomination for the Senate from California in 2010. Ms. Fiorina was the CEO of Hewlitt-Packard for six years and walked away with $45 million after presiding over a 58% decline in the price of the company's stock. I don't want to pick on her too much; after all, her timing wasn't the best--she took the reigns in 1999, right before the tech bubble burst. But it does make me wonder about the impact a CEO really has on a company and its stock price, and if these eye-popping pay packages are really warranted. Couldn't HP have promoted someone from within for less money to preside over a 58% decline in the price of the stock? Would the company have done much worse if somebody else had just sat in her office with the door closed and their feet up on the desk?