Early reaction to the Meg Whitman for Governor story seems less than thrilled with the idea. Two early memes: One, she’s an unknown. Two, she’s known only for eBay, which is bad. From BloggingStocks: Should Whitman take the plunge, the odds are against her. For one thing, no one outside of stock geeks and disgruntled eBay sellers knows her name. Of course, several million dollars worth of television advertising will take care of that. – From US News & World Report

Former eBay Inc Chief Executive Meg Whitman has resigned from three corporate boards for personal reasons, a turn-of-the-year move that would free her to run for governor of California. Term limits mean Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican like Whitman, must leave the job in 2010, and high-profile figures in the Golden State from Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein to former high technology executives are considering making a run. – From Reuters

Meg Whitman, the former chief executive officer of EBay Inc., stepped down from the company’s board as well as those of Procter & Gamble Co. and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. “Her experience and insights will be missed, but Meg will always be a part of the EBay family,” John Donahoe, EBay’s chief executive, said today in an e-mailed statement. The resignations were effective Dec. 31, said Henry Gomez, a spokesman for Whitman. – From Bloomberg

Former eBay Inc. chief executive Meg Whitman plans to run for governor of California, a person with knowledge of her political aspirations said Monday. The 52-year-old Republican plans to run in 2010 for the seat Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is leaving but is not ready to make a formal announcement, said the person, who was not authorized to talk publicly and spoke Monday on condition of anonymity. – From AP