Huntsman is no Reagan

15 June 2011 |permalink | email article

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Republican who served as President Obama’s ambassador to China until this spring is running for president and hoping to defeat Obama who he blamed for a failed economy. Last week he made his third trip to New Hampshire and is building a national campaign based in Orlando, Fla.

Huntsman made the announcement Tuesday afternoon at the Thompson Reuters building in Times Square, where he was discussing China with Henry Kissinger and Sir Harold Evans, the newly named editor at large for Reuters before a large audience of elite news media and political figures.

Next Tuesday he will officially declare his candidacy in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, where Ronald Reagan began his presidential campaign in 1980. He will then make a swing through New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida, Utah and Nevada while skipping the Iowa caucuses.

His advisers argue that there is plenty of time for him to establish himself as a serious contender but he is little known nationally. His focus will be overtaking Mitt Romney, the former governor of New Hampshire and the clear front runner. Both candidates will face off for the Mormon vote.

Update: A reliable source tweeted that last week in Jackson Hole, Wy. Huntsman met with a new friend – Glenn Beck, winding down his extreme right daily show on Fox News to form GBTV. Go figure!

Big Four and GOP decision

Nate Silver’s Political Calculus – Five Thirty Eight in The New York Times – is that Monday’s GOP debate swings the door open for Rick Perry while closing it for Sarah Palin. Besides Palin, the other candidate whose decision will have the most influence on the race in Perry of Texas. He has some vulnerabilities but could potentially fulfill William F. Buckley’s commandment to Republicans: nominate the most conservative candidate who is electable…the four candidates who seem as though they will have the most influence on the party’s nominating decision are Romney, Pawlenty, Perry and Bachmann.

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