# Huntsman dropping out?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654>\
**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:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**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 18, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/41 "2012-01-18T04:08:45Z")

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> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#):
>
> Oh and Michelle Bachmann was charismatic? Perry? Look, I’m not surprised that Huntsman didn’t win the election. But his shtick was perfectly adequate to give him a transient bump in the polls. But he never broke 15%. Sorry: what killed Huntsman was his sanity. If he acted like a nutcase and kept attacking Romney for being a flip-flopper he would have broken 30%, before getting savaged by attack ads. Huntsman’s web attacks on Romney were devastating _and yet they didn’t even warrant notice from the Romney campaign_. .

I don’t see how pointing out that a rival candidate flip-flopped is being nuts.

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**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntsman-dropping-out/609654/42 "2012-01-18T04:48:33Z")

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> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#):
>
> I don’t see how pointing out that a rival candidate flip-flopped is being nuts.

I was misunderstood. But let me back up a bit.

I’ve ranted about how the GOP has gone off the rails, especially over the last couple of years. But honestly, Huntsman’s strategy as it existed was reasonable c. June 2011 IMHO: it just didn’t pan out. Think of it a test of my hypothesis. As things transpired my theories were supported, but hey I could have been wrong. You don’t know unless you try. Specifically, I agree that “position[ing] himself as a conservative who was both consistent (unlike Romney and Gingrich) and electable (unlike Perry, Santorum, Cain, and Bachmann),” was viable especially if he was angling for 2016. Something like that might have worked in the past and may work in the future. But not now, and not only because Huntsman resembled Mr. Rogers.

I say that if Huntsman knew how nutty the 2010-12 GOP was, he would have  
a) Accused Romney of being a flip-flopper,  
and  
b) Espoused some of the same batshit that Bachmann et al did, albeit somewhat finer tuned since he wouldn’t actually be crazy, but only playing one on TV. Just like Romney.

But yes, a) is entirely reasonable.

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