SocraticGadfly: Huntsman move could backfire on Obama

January 31, 2011

Huntsman move could backfire on Obama

Former Utah Gov. John Huntsman, now Barack Obama's ambassador to China, is making noises about entering the presidential race.

At the time Obama nominated him to go to China, it was rumored this was in part to get him out of the U.S. and the presidential hunt. Huntsman, definitely conservative, javascript:void(0)but definitely sane, or sane-sounding, compared to much of today's GOP, was rumored to be a serious worry for Obama.

Instead, Obama may have given Huntsman an out, or cover, for avoiding much of that GOP nuttery while being an "above the fray" type candidate on things such as tea partiers, etc., while also allowing Huntsman to burnish foreign policy credentials.

That said, if he does enter, how hard will other GOPers hit him on Mormonism? As hard as Mitt Romney? Harder?

And, seriously, given his positions on things like gay rights, does he really expect to be able to win the GOP nomination?

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