Whitman Decides Not to Play Nice, Gets Booed at Debate

California Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman listens to a question from reporters during a news conference in Santa Monica, Calif. on Sept. 30. (AP Photo)

She says "anything is fair in politics," in an interview on Fox News Channel Wednesday morning, but gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, R-Calif., may still have the sound of "boos" ringing in her ears after refusing in a debate to pull negative campaign ads against her opponent Jerry Brown, D-Calif.

Brown and Whitman were asked by NBC’s Matt Lauer if they would agree to pull the negative campaign ads they have been airing. Brown said "let’ be clear about it. If she takes her negative ads, as reasonably defined…I’ll take mine off, no question."

But Whitman replied, "So here’s what I’ll do, I’ll take down any ads that could even remotely be construed as a personal attack, but I don’t think we can take down the ads that talk about where Governor Brown stands the issues. I just think it’s not the right thing to do." Her response was met with a large number of boos from the audience.

The race has been filled with a number of attacks from both sides. One of the most recent controversies surrounded a member of Jerry Brown’s campaign being overhead calling Meg Whitman a "whore" on a phone recording, and allegations she might have knowingly hired an illegal immigrant as a housekeeper. Meanwhile, Whitman’s campaign has released ads calling Brown a "dishonest politician," and attacking his previous terms in office.

The latest Real Clear Politics Poll shows Brown up 9.5% over Whitman, So far, neither one of the candidates have received backing from the current Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was also at Tuesday’s debate.