Meg Whitman Meets with Valley Business Leaders

San Fernando - Meg Whitman is running for California governor and the wind seems to be at her back.

Whitman met with business leaders in the San Fernando Valley on Thursday, telling them one question keeps coming up as she campaigns to be the state's next governor.

Meg Whitman:
"Even as i was walking in here a number of people stopped me to say: Why does anyone want this job?"

Whitman, the former CEO of eBay, admits the governor's job is not for the faint-hearted.

Meg Whitman:
"Is California actually governable? Can anyone lead us out of this mess? I think the answer is yes, but it's going to take a very different approach."

Whitman says the next governor can only succeed by staying focused.

She says she'll be focused with laser-like intensity on cutting spending, improving education and creating jobs.

Whitman also tells us she caught the political bug while working on the presidential campaigns last year of GOP hopefuls Mitt Romney and John McCain.

What makes Whitman think she can do a better job than Governor Schwarzenegger, another GOP political novice who arguably failed to master Sacramento's entrenched bureaucracy, democratic legislature and labor unions?

Meg Whitman:
"The next governor of California must have a spine of steel, a core set of convictions. If you have a huge need to be liked, this is not a good job-person fit because... think about it... as you take on the entrenched interests, try to change education and try to have a better business climate here, people aren't going to be happy with you. That's how i'm different in many ways."