Posted on 11/30/2011 11:19:15 AM PST by St. Louis Conservative
HANOVER, NH—Jon Huntsman walked out of the rear door of a Dartmouth auditorium. His head swiveled as he looked for the black SUV that will take him to his next stop. He had just given a speech emphasizing his claim that the future of America will not be decided on a battlefield in remotest Afghanistan but along the trade routes of the Pacific. The applause had barely died down in the hall as Huntsman exited into the quiet streets of Hanover. He took one second to sigh. He had just launched “Phase Two” of his campaign, and it was a success.
The reboot couldn’t come fast enough. Huntsman had made no dent in the polls since his launch in June. Instead, the avalanche of prestige media mash-notes to his campaign had the effect of raising expectations ridiculously high and smothering him with the labels “soft” and “moderate” in an era when Tea-caffeinated primary voters are looking for “hard” and “right.” The hastily constructed campaign—largely built while the candidate was still serving as Obama’s ambassador to China—was subject to infighting and leaked acrimony that would outlast July’s reorganization. Huntsman was sinking almost as fast as Tim Pawlenty, his name recognition barely above Buddy Roemer’s.
But this rickety launch obscured more than it revealed. Huntsman may be uncomfortable in the ideological sweathouse that is the conservative movement. He may be diplomatic when the right is dyspeptic. But his candidacy offers conservatives two very tantalizing possibilities: a break with the Bush legacy on foreign policy and the chance to move their policy prescriptions off the Tea Party’s placards and into the center of our political debate. Huntsman’s record shows that conservative politics can triumph not just through conflict but also by concord.
(Excerpt) Read more at theamericanconservative.com ...
He’s pro-amnesty, a liar on official English, squishy on abortion, Obamanation on foreign policy... hard to see how he’s more conservative.
I have to agree with you: he’s enormously smarmy. I always call him Eddie Haskell (for those baby boomers who remember him). He also reminds me of Barney Fife’s evil twin brother.
The more I read about Huntsman, the more I dont understand why he isnt getting any traction. Could it be the MSM is keeping the real conservative down while propping up RINO’s like Romney? Nah, couldn’t be that...
I hear ya. Isn’t he a social liberal too?
Huntsman is also a global warming nut case who dropped out of high school.
he accused perry of not understanding the science behind global warming, truth is, Rick Perry actually has a degree in animal science. So the real anti-science candidate is the global warming alarmist and high school dropout, Jon Huntsman.
Isn’t he also pro gay marriage?
Eddie Haskell is quite appropriate.
The more I read about Huntsman, the more I dont understand why he isn’t a liberal Democrat.
I put Huntsman in the middle of the pack, ahead of Paul, Gingrich, Romney, and Santorum but behind Cain, Bachmann, and Perry.
Who?
Whenever I see him talking on TV my gaydar goes off like the klaxon on the starship Enterprise. Or is that just me?
But his rhetoric is to the left of Joe Lieberman, which means he ain’t getting the nomination.
Utah is a pretty conservative state anyway, so if you come in as Governor and just don’t do much you probably come out pretty well on these conservative rating scales.
Huntsman’s ideal job is back in China as US Ambassador.
He knows more about China than any other non-Chinese person I’ve ever heard.
Well, that’ll be the day.
I believe he supports “civil unions”.
Ruh Roh. We figuratively hang people like that around here don't we?
The calendar is Huntsman’s enemy. No doubt about it. But this race is STILL unsettled at this point, and in the 21st century, with mass communication, twitter, 24hr news.....things can change quickly - much more than they used to.
Yeah, I get that gaydar feel, too.
Ron Paul stands a better chance of getting the nomination than Huntsman. and Paul’s chance is somewhere to the south side of slim and none, but at least he has something approaching a base of support.
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