Whitman says she won't back Independent White House candidate

Former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman says that her attendance at a bi-partisan meeting in Oklahoma this month should not be misinterpreted as playing a role in the founding of a third party or in urging New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to mount an independent bid for President this year.  Whitman, a PolitickerNJ.com columnist, said she would not leave the GOP.

"Unfortunately, what has been planned as a bipartisan effort to address the crippling divisiveness of our current political atmosphere is being reported as the potential beginning of a third party. That was never the intent," Whitman said in a statement released today.  “Nor is this a campaign to draft Mayor Michael Bloomberg into the presidential race. Next week's meeting is purely an effort to shatter the political gridlock that prevents the passage of legislation that is good for America."

“While other attendees may assert their personal interest in a third party,  I am a Republican and will remain one.  I will, however, work to return my party to its traditional fiscal conservatism.  I am also interested in working with those who care about getting both parties back to a place where party loyalty does not trump good policy," said Whitman. “This renewal of America's political dialogue is the goal of next week's meeting."

Whitman served as Governor from 1994 to 2001, and as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 2001 to 2003.  He daughter, Kate Whitman, is a candidate for the Republican nomination for Congress in the seventh district and is a supporter of Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign.