If Jon Huntsman's Still Positioning Himself for 2016, This Is a Funny Way To Do It

[RTFirefly]

Huntsman, who says he has been at every convention since 1984 when he was a delegate for Ronald Reagan, told The Salt Lake Tribune in a statement that he’s been asked repeatedly whether he would attend the August convention in Tampa, Fla., but noted that he is skipping it.

"I will not be attending this year’s convention, nor any Republican convention in the future," Huntsman said, "until the party focuses on a bigger, bolder, more confident future for the United States — a future based on problem solving, inclusiveness, and a willingness to address the trust deficit, which is every bit as corrosive as our fiscal and economic deficits."

Of course, he'd already said what we needed was a third-party candidate who offered an alternative to the Republican and Democratic options. So he's already been burning his bridges.

If he someday decides to try to be that third-party candidate, he'll be sure to get the vote of every pundit who says that Obama could break the political deadlock if only he'd reach out to Republicans by doing X, oblivious to the fact that Obama's already done X.

[MOIDALIZE]

Yeah, he's definitely got the Beltway pundit vote locked up. That just leaves...everyone else.

[goonhead]

It was a surprise to me that Huntsman ran in 2012, given the fact that he had to run against his state's pseudo-favorite son (Romney maintains a home in Utah and lived there while involved in managing the 2002 Winter Olympic Games), and had been appointed to an ambassadorship during a democratic presidential administration. The ambassador experience and popularity with people of both parties lent him a lot of credentials among intellectuals, but in today's political climate made it too tough to do well in partisan presidential primaries. My guess is that he's positioning himself for more prominent appointment in a Romney administration (if it occurs).

[boytyperanma]

Huntsman's chance of running as the a sane republican in 2016 went down in flames when Romney picked up the nomination. He needed one of the truly crazy people to win, then for them to lose the general spectacularly.

Then he could step in and say 'that's what you have become lets get back to governing.' Huntsman's argument against Romney is weak. Romney's just a less consistent brother with better name recognition.

[Bill Door]

Originally Posted by boytyperanma

Huntsman's chance of running as the a sane republican in 2016 went down in flames when Romney picked up the nomination. He needed one of the truly crazy people to win, then for them to lose the general spectacularly.

Then he could step in and say 'that's what you have become lets get back to governing.' Huntsman's argument against Romney is weak. Romney's just a less consistent brother with better name recognition.

I'm afraid that you're correct, and that if Mitt Romney loses the Republicans will figure they weren't far enough out there and double down on the crazy. A Santorum loss might have paved the way for Huntsman.

[John Mace]

Well, that'll show 'em!

[Jas09]

It's too bad David Broder died... he would be writing nothing but Hunstman columns for months.

[Enderw24]

Jon has more on his radar these days than just politics. It's not often you get the title role opposite Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart so let's see what comes of that endeavor before we start worrying about 2016.

[TriPolar]

Huntsman's run this season was kind of unusual. He is a real Utah Mormon, and richer than Romney (at least his family is), but he's so liberal on many issues Obama would have shown better primary numbers than he did in a modern Republican primary. I do get the feeling that he planned this run several years ago, and he just followed through on something already in the works. I think Romney, win or lose, will be the last Mormon candidate taken seriously for a long time. So Huntsman may not seriously have his sights on 2016.

[adaher]

John Huntsman was a great governor and probably would have been a great President, but he's completely stupid when it comes to politics. He was running what was substantially the furthest right campaign on policy, and the furthest left on rhetoric. There was just no way that was ever going to work.

Given his competence and dedication to his country, I suspect we'll be seeing him again in a Cabinet position, maybe even in the Romney administration. or a Democratic administration.