Jon Huntsman, the US Ambassador to China, former US Ambassador to Singapore, Deputy US Trade Representative, and Republican Governor of Utah, has suddenly hinted interest in running for the Presidential nomination in 2012, despite having served under President Obama in Beijing for the past two years, and thought to be unlikely to run for political office against the man who appointed him!
Huntsman would be an attractive moderate in the Republican race, having championed unpopular gay rights legislation in a heavily Mormon state, modified the state’s liquor laws, and publicly backed environmental legislation, all steps toward appealing to groups that would ordinarily dismiss Republicans as an alternative to vote for.
But being a Mormon as Mitt Romney is, would not be a plus, and his moderation on many social issues, having worked for Obama, and being out of the political wars of the past two years, all seem to be negatives for him.
Although Huntsman is spreading the rumor that he might run for the White House, it would still be surprising to see him make a full scale assault on the President, and it would make more sense for him to wait until 2016, when the political climate would be different, and President Obama would not be running for reelection.