McCain Defends Fiorina’s Compensation Package

John McCain over the weekend defended the $42 million received by one of his top economic advisers, Carly Fiorina, when she was fired as CEO of Hewlett Packard in 2005.”I think she did a good job as CEO in many respects,” McCain told “The Today Show’s” Meredith Vieira shen she pressed him on the matter in light of McCain’s recent accusations of greed on Wall Street.

“I know that she was a very successful businesswoman. Started out as a part-time secretary and made her way to the top of the corporate ladder as one of the biggest CEOs in the United States of America,” McCain said after noting that he was unaware of the specifics of her compensation package.

Fiorina received $21 million in severance pay when she was fired as CEO of Hewlett Packard in 2005. She received an additional $21 million when Hewlett Packard’s board bought out her company stock options and pension benefits. Her compensation package sparked a lawsuit from shareholders.

McCain has railed recently against what he calls “unbridled greed” on Wall Street, blaming corruption among the U.S. financial elite for the nation’s current economic turmoil. He has long called for CEO compensation packages to be approved by shareholders, and has blasted CEOs of late.

“When their companies collapse, only their CEOs seem to escape the consequences,” McCain said in a speech last week.