Posted on 03/29/2011 1:29:59 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Last weekend, my dinner partner, a self-described "Theodore Roosevelt Republican, very disturbed and discouraged by the Tea Party movement," detailed for me the reasons Jon Huntsman Jr. could not win the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. "He is intelligent, attractive, has proven leadership credentials as a businessman and former governor, and would be best suited to take on Obama in a general election. So, of course, our party won't nominate him."
Joking aside, rumors about the current U.S. ambassador to China (he is resigning that post effective April 31) and his future plans have the Washington chattering class buzzing. The entity currently formed in UtahHorizon PACappears to be setting the stage for Huntsman should he decide to jump in. Operatives working with Horizon PAC are quick to point out that the entity has no personal affiliation with Huntsman whatsoever. There is no reason to doubt them, as any political communication with the ambassador would prove a serious violation of the Hatch Act. Horizon PAC is helmed by the sometimes controversial political strategist John Weaver (full disclosure, Weaver is a friend and former colleague) who ran John McCain's 2000 presidential bid. Those prepping a Huntsman run are hoping to fill what they view as a gaping void in the GOP field: a serious but thoughtful conservative who can pull America back to the center right.
The book on Huntsman is brief but solid: successful businessman, youngest ambassador in U.S. history (age 29Singapore), two-term governor of Utah and current ambassador to China. Like Mitt Romney, he is Mormon but doesnt wear his religion on his sleeve. Politically, he is already being lambasted by the far right for his stances on climate change and same-sex unions during his gubernatorial tenure. Huntsman allies are quick to point out he is a solid fiscal conservative who also happens to be progun and prolife, and he possesses foreign policy credentials the rest of GOP field desperately lacks. Many speculate, however, that his religion and political views may not be as steep a hurdle as the post he currently occupies.
The Obama electoral machinethemselves no political neophytesrecognized the threat of Huntsman so early that they made him an offer he couldn't refuse. That Huntsman accepted was no surprisehe is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and the businessman in him recognized that diplomacy and commerce with China are among the biggest issues facing America in the 21st century. That he resigned to (presumably) run against his old boss makes him either a Brutus or a political geniusdepending on who you ask. Primary opponents will likely pepper Huntsman with questions about and accusations of party loyalty: "How could you work for Obama in China?" Huntsman's best retort would acknowledge his service head on: "If you mean dealing directly with our largest trading partner and the globe's only other superpower, the question I ask you is, 'How could I not work for Obama in China?'"
The primary strategy for Huntsman will, not surprisingly, likely look much like it did for McCain in 2000 and 2008. Stay away from evangelical and agricultural Iowa (a media report today indicated Huntsman intended to do just that), bet the house on New Hampshire, and hope that a Granite State win, coupled with a dwindling field of Republican candidates, propels him into South Carolina, Florida, and Super Tuesday.
If Huntsman is to enter the race, he will need to get to work quickly upon returning from Asia. Many GOP political operatives and, perhaps more importantly, fundraising commitments, have already been carved up amongst the field. Presumably, Weaver and his team are plowing those rows as we speak.
In a political era defined by activist Tea Party populism, Huntsmans calm and directed demeanor doesnt place him as the odds-on favorite for the Republican nomination. Huntsman may not have the vicious tongue and damning rhetoric necessary to appease the red meat base this go-around. If the gamble works, however, the only group more afraid of a Huntsman candidacy than the far right would be those mapping out the presidents re-election in Chicago.
(VIDEO AT LINK)
I’ll pass on anyone associated with Obozo past or present.
Agreed.he carries the taint of the bamster on him..
So Huntsman really isn't going to resign??? The article writer needs to check a calendar.
The blue bloods think they can order up another round of domestic servants.
What a weird strategy this is from the Obama camp.... I almost wonder if this is just meant as a hail mary attempt to derail Glenn Beck, knowing of his relationship with Huntsman’s father?
“Like Mitt Romney, he is Mormon but doesnt wear his religion on his sleeve”
I read
“Like Mitt Romney, he is Mormon but his religion doesn’t mean as much to him as self aggrandizing power does.”
Teddy belonged to a different age. He was a great man and a great leader, but best left to history.
It sounds like what he doesn't have is the conservatism. I'm not voting for another RINO and it's just as simple as that.
The nephew of an Obama appointee ran for the house seat in my district and even that made me nervous.
Or from State.
so Obama (and Ikhwan and al Qaeda)
must be "really, really (wink, wink) afraid".
ROTFLOL
THE REAL DEAL:
“The primary strategy for Huntsman will, not surprisingly, likely look much like it did for McCain in 2000 and 2008.”
And end the same way it did for McCain. Defeat.
No to Huntsman!!
I’ll say one thing about these Mormons - they’ve got great hair. Between he and Romney, they must go through a vat of hairspray per annum.
LOL
LOL
Rudy McRomney 2.0
BINGO!!!!!
It ain’t about who is feared by obama...it’s about who is trusted by the American people.
Looks like a metrosexual.
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