Utah Governor Jon Huntsman (R), who had been carving out a niche for himself as the leader of the "not insane" wing of the GOP, has accepted an appointment by President Obama to become ambassador to China. Huntsman speaks Mandarin fluently and did his Mormon mission to Taiwan.
A Kos blogger says this means Huntsman is throwing away any chance at the 2012 nod. That's probably right, although in different circumstances it could give Hunstman even more credibility as a "country over partisanship" kind of candidate. Unfortunately for him, the body of the GOP considers service to the Obama administration to be apostasy, so I doubt it will work out that way in the end.
UPDATE: As Steve Benen points out, Hunstman will only be 56 in 2016, so that might be the better shot -- assuming, again, that the Republican base steps back from the precipice.
Gov. Huntsmen is unqualified to be called a conservative. Anyone who thinks that that taxes and government spending can be kept low while maintaining open borders and unlimited immigraiton is a fool.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Huntsmen will run in the Democratic party primary in 2016 since the Republican Party is be completely irrelevant by then.