At Fiorina's first public appearance after being sacked as HP's CEO, she links sexism and racism for graduates of a mainly black college.

　　Not long after losing her job as CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ ), Carleton S. Fiorina put in a call to James C. Renick, chancellor of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University.

　　During a fund-raising visit to HP's Palo Alto (Calif.) campus a year before, Renick had invited Fiorina to speak at the historically black university's spring 2005 commencement.

　　"Do you still want me to come?" she asked Renick, aware that publicity over her Feb. 9 sacking hadn't helped her image. Absolutely, Renick said. Fiorina now had something in common with the graduates, he reasoned: Unemployment.

　　And so it was that Fiorina's first public appearance since being deposed from HP came on May 7 in front of some 14,000 at the Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum. This wasn't a typical audience for Fiorina. The crowd was there to watch friends and loved ones receive their diplomas. Little publicity surrounded the event, and reporters were forbidden from asking her questions.

　　Yet the 50-year-old former CEO displayed the same charisma and confidence she showed often during her fiery five-and-a-half years at HP. Sitting on stage, gazing intently as the student-body president addressed the crowd and exuding the same poise she would if presiding over a shareholders meeting, Fiorina appeared right at home.

　　Her half-hour speech wowed 'em. But instead of the upbeat, visionary CEO-speak Wall Street and the tech industry is used to hearing, this audience saw a softer, more revealing side of the world's best-known businesswoman.

　　The biggest surprise might be how openly she talked about the loss of her job as head of an $80 billion tech conglomerate. "Although I have made my fair share of mistakes, I have no regrets," she said. "I'm still here, I'm at peace, and my soul is intact."

　　Fiorina didn't give any hint about her future plans, but many speculate she'll make a foray into politics. Judging by her ability to connect with this crowd, that might not be a bad move.