# Huntsman dropping out? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 16, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654 "2012-01-16T02:51:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/1 "2012-01-16T02:51:18Z")
[According to this,](http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/15/10163220-huntsman-to-drop-out-of-race) he’ll announce he’s folding Monday morning. Given his performance so far, this isn’t the biggest shock of the 2012 campaign, but I figured he’s at least stay in until after the SC primary. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/2 "2012-01-16T02:59:44Z")
So much for the theory that he’d benefit by the splitting of the batshit crazy vote. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/3 "2012-01-16T03:13:01Z")
Unfortunate, I hope he becomes Secretary of State or the Treasury. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/4 "2012-01-16T03:41:57Z")
Per Political Wire: > [@](#): > > Jon Huntsman told his advisers that he intends to drop out of the Republican presidential race, the New York Times reports. > > He will endorse Mitt Romney’s bid for the Republican nomination this week. Guess that’s another 45 votes for Romney. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/5 "2012-01-16T03:42:51Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Per Political Wire: > > Guess that’s another 45 votes for Romney. He’s polling 3-4% in South Carolina, and polls have consistently underestimated Huntsman. This means SC is in the bag for Romney and thence the nomination. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/6 "2012-01-16T04:14:47Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Unfortunate, I hope he becomes Secretary of State or the Treasury. Somehow I think Obama is disinclined to give him another job. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/7 "2012-01-16T04:25:17Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Somehow I think Obama is disinclined to give him another job. Win! ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/8 "2012-01-16T04:32:19Z")
Well that stinks. I was hoping Hunstman would stick it out at least until South Carolina. Oh well. Perhaps he feels he’s done enough preliminary work for 2016. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/9 "2012-01-16T05:30:29Z")
I’m not sure why he didn’t drop out immediately after the New Hampshire results came in, but this was going to happen sooner or later. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/10 "2012-01-16T06:01:42Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > He’s polling 3-4% in South Carolina, and polls have consistently underestimated Huntsman. This means SC is in the bag for Romney and thence the nomination. Romney already has a double digit lead in SC. This isn’t changing anything. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/11 "2012-01-16T06:07:51Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Somehow I think Obama is disinclined to give him another job. I dunno, Hilary is rumored to be looking to retire and Huntsman’s worked in Obama’s administration before. While Huntsman has some deplorable policies, his foreign policy is not among them. I think he might do OK. ETA: Oh, and yes, this will cement Romney’s victory. Huntsman was the only person running less crazy than Romney. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/12 "2012-01-16T08:13:13Z")
Try as I might, I can’t get further than 15% through this threa… ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/13 "2012-01-16T09:45:45Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > Huntsman was the only person running less crazy than Romney. Actually, I’m not sure his actual record is less crazy than Romney’s. Huntsman was pretty conservative in Utah, both socially and fiscally. He’s less willing to throw bombs, but there might actually be more right-wing substance to Huntsman than there is to Romney. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/14 "2012-01-16T12:58:06Z")
Now Romney can go after his bigger threat in SC: Colbert! ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/15 "2012-01-16T13:25:45Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Oh well. Perhaps he feels he’s done enough preliminary work for 2016. I don’t really think he’s helped himself any for a 2016 Presidential run. The GOP often turns to the runner up in the last primary to choose its nominee, but Huntsman isn’t the runner up. Or the runner up for the runner up. Depending on how you measure it, he’s maybe tied with Perry for fifth. And 2016 assumes Romney looses this cycle. If Romney loses, the GOP isn’t going to turn to another moderate Mormon governor with a business background and good hair to try again in five years. I still don’t understand what Huntsman has been doing for the past six months, but the conventional wisdom that he’s prepping a 2016 Presidential run doesn’t make a lot of sense. But on the bright side, I’m sure his daddy has another company he can run to keep himself busy for a few years. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/16 "2012-01-16T14:28:31Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I don’t really think he’s helped himself any for a 2016 Presidential run. The GOP often turns to the runner up in the last primary to choose its nominee, but Huntsman isn’t the runner up. Or the runner up for the runner up. Depending on how you measure it, he’s maybe tied with Perry for fifth. But he didn’t embarrass himself like “Three Things” Perry – and he didn’t go wildly negative in defiance of Saint Ronnie’s eleventh commandment either, whereas Gingrich keeps speaking ill of another Republican in an all-or-nothing tactic that’s now drawing criticism from inside the party. So if Romney doesn’t run again in '16, who picks up all the voters who went for Romney this year? It’ll presumably be the guy who can make the same case Romney is now making; it won’t be Ron Paul, if Ron Paul runs while in his 80s. Assuming a Romney loss, Huntsman has four whole years to build up one little difference between them – which he can then fire off whenever asked why he won’t lose the way Romney did; he can otherwise duplicate the most successful strategy in play this time around, the way no one else can. (And assuming a Romney win, what the hell else can he do but be the first to endorse the guy while at the closest thing he’ll get to a high point?) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/17 "2012-01-16T14:42:07Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Gingrich keeps speaking ill of another Republican in an all-or-nothing tactic that’s now drawing criticism from inside the party. To be fair, Gingrich also defended Romney against other candidates’ criticism of his time at Bain Capital. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/18 "2012-01-16T15:03:14Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Actually, I’m not sure his actual record is less crazy than Romney’s. Huntsman was pretty conservative in Utah, both socially and fiscally. He’s less willing to throw bombs, but there might actually be more right-wing substance to Huntsman than there is to Romney. You’re implying that there is _any_ substance to Romney? ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/19 "2012-01-16T16:05:15Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > But he didn’t embarrass himself like “Three Things” Perry He could’ve done that by just staying home. But I’m not sure he didn’t embarrass himself. He was beat by Bachmann and and Perry in Iowa, and creamed by Ron Paul in NH despite spending months campaigning there. Not being able to do well in elections against marginal candidates is embarrassing for a politician. Thats sort of my point. > [@](#): > > and he didn’t go wildly negative in defiance of Saint Ronnie’s eleventh commandment either, whereas Gingrich keeps speaking ill of another Republican in an all-or-nothing tactic that’s now drawing criticism from inside the party. Again, he could’ve not gone negative while just staying home. But half the reason people knew who Huntsman was outside of Utah was due to his criticisms of the party in '09, so to the extent criticizing Republicans is a deal breaker, his putative '16 opponents will still have something to point to. > [@](#): > > So if Romney doesn’t run again in '16, who picks up all the voters who went for Romney this year? Some other pro-business guy who is less reminiscent of last elections loser. Who is picking up John McCain’s votes from '08? Not another geriatric Senator ex-fighter pilot. > [@](#): > > he can otherwise duplicate the most successful strategy in play this time around, the way no one else can. (And assuming a Romney win, what the hell else can he do but be the first to endorse the guy while at the closest thing he’ll get to a high point?) Romney is winning because the other decent potential candidates stayed out of the race. I don’t think thats really a strategy that can be purposefully duplicated. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/20 "2012-01-16T16:27:22Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > He could’ve done that by just staying home. But I’m not sure he didn’t embarrass himself. He was beat by Bachmann and and Perry in Iowa, and creamed by Ron Paul in NH despite spending months campaigning there. Not being able to do well in elections against marginal candidates is embarrassing for a politician. Thats sort of my point. Romney got creamed by Ron Paul – and John McCain, and Mike Huckabee – in NH back in '08. But he got his name out there, showed he can debate on the national stage without making stupid gaffes or burning important bridges, and got McCain’s endorsement four years later. > [@](#): > > Again, he could’ve not gone negative while just staying home. Heck, _ **I** _ can not go negative while just staying home. The other half of the equation is positioning yourself as someone who looks electable. > [@](#): > > Some other pro-business guy who is less reminiscent of last elections loser. Who? (And, again: Huntsman has four years to build up one difference he can point to and argue is all-important.) > [@](#): > > Romney is winning because the other decent potential candidates stayed out of the race. Again, who? > [@](#): > > I don’t think thats really a strategy that can be purposefully duplicated. The famous-from-his-run-four-years-ago moderate who goes for a plurality while multiple folks split up the right? I can’t yet rule out a duplication. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654.md?page=2)