Republicans looking for an unapologetic firebrand — a candidate who speaks with Reagan-like conviction — should pay attention to former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. She handles the media like no others in the race.

Mention "abortion" and Republicans typically run for cover. They try to qualify statements and actions in their pasts. Not Fiorina. CNN's Jake Tapper asked her last week about Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's singing of a late-term abortion bill characterized by Hillary Clinton as "extreme." Fiorina did not distance herself from a problem that was not hers. Quite the contrary. She threw the label back on Clinton, without a moment's hesitation.

"Let's talk about what 'extreme' is," Fiorina said. "It's not a life until it leaves the hospital? That's Hillary Clinton's position. It's Hillary Clinton's position that a 13-year-old girl needs her mother's permission to go to a tanning salon or get a tattoo, but not to get an abortion. It's Hillary Clinton's position that women should not be permitted to look at an ultrasound before an abortion, and yet people who are trying to harvest its body parts can use an ultrasound to make sure that those body parts are preserved, so they can be sold. That, Jake, is extreme."

Regardless of a candidate's position on abortion, the crowded field of Republicans should observe and learn from Fiorina's quick wit and style. History's great leaders did not succeed by capitulating to perceived public opinion and the common morality of Big Media. Rather, they spoke their minds with honesty. They defended their values and schooled their opponents, gaining respect of allies and opponents alike.

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