Republican presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina gets positive publicity from Joel Gehrke of National Review Online.

A Republican activist approached Carly Fiorina after her speech at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference Saturday not just to pledge her support, but also to say that she hopes her daughter grows up to be like the longshot presidential candidate.

“My little girl is such a firecracker,” Marcela White, a native Romanian who immigrated to the United States following the collapse of the Soviet Union, says following the exchange. “She is not afraid to say what’s on her mind, she is really bold — I was really shy as a child — and Ms. Fiorina would be such a great model for my little girl.”

Fiorina’s ability to inspire such admiration speaks to her potential as a foil to Hillary Clinton. After losing badly in her only previous bid for public office, Fiorina has emerged as a master of one of the oldest political arts: the stump speech. She’s also developed a knack for turning even provocative reporters’ questions to her advantage. She will lean heavily on those newfound skills while campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire, the two early states that tend to determine if a would-be contender surges into the top tier or falls by the wayside.