The Media's Love Affair With Jon Huntsman Is Officially Over

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After a breakout performance in last week's presidential debate, Jon Huntsman appeared to have established himself as the media's darling in the 2012  race.

For a brief moment — about six days — mainstream reporters and pundits thought they had found a moderate diamond in the rough of a rabidly partisan 2012 field. Huntsman looked like that rare Republican willing to admit he believes in evolution, climate change, and maybe even civil unions.

But the media's tryst with Huntsman ended as quickly as it began last night during the CNN/Tea Party debate. The former Utah Governor surrendered his high ground, and regressed to lashing out his opponents with lame jokes and petty one-liners. Basically he was the most annoying kind of smart-ass — the kind that's not funny. 

Here's a rundown of the snarky remarks that paved Huntsman's road to irrelevance:

On Social Security:"You've got Governor Romney, who called it a fraud in his book "No Apology." I don't know if that was written by Kurt Cobain or not." (He later continued with this theme, calling for an end to America's "heroin-like addiction to foreign oil").On jobs: "I know that everything's bigger in Texas, and Rick likes to talk that way. And I know all the smart people reside in Massachusetts. But let me just tell you, Utah, the great state of Utah, was number one in job creation at 5.9 percent during my years as governor."On Rick Perry's immigration record: "Let me say for Rick to say that you can't secure the border I think is pretty much a treasonous comment."On Mitt Romney: "I think we can spend all night talking about where Mitt's been on all the issues of the day. And that would take forever."On national security, he inexplicably lavished praise on NGOs — not a major selling point with the Tea Party set: "When we start shining again, it's going to help the women of Afghanistan, along with any other NGO work that can be done there and the collaborative efforts of great volunteer efforts here in the United States."And finally, when asked what he would bring to the White House, Huntsman made one last ditch effort to maintain his street cred: "My wife's going to kill me for saying this — but I would bring my — as a 40-year motorcycle rider, I would bring my Harley-Davidson and my motocross bike."Please follow Politics on Twitter and Facebook.
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Is Jon Huntsman The New Candidate Of The Conservative Intellectual Elite?

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The Wall Street Journal's editorial board endorsed presidential candidate Jon Huntsman's economic growth plan in a column published in Friday's paper.

The board declared that the plan put forward Wednesday by the former Utah governor and Ambassador to China "is as impressive as any to date in the GOP Presidential field, and certainly better than what we've seen from the front-runners." 

Last month the same editorial writers called on fiscal conservatives like Rep. Paul Ryan and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to enter the GOP presidential race — calling the declared candidates a "weak field." But weeks later it seems conservative intellectual class has found its candidate, albeit a longshot one, in Huntsman.

The far-reaching plan would upend the nation's tax code, rein in government regulation and promote free trade agreements.

"Perhaps Mr. Huntsman should be asked to give the Republican response to the President's jobs speech next week," the editorial says. "The two views of what makes an economy grow could not be more different."

While he only polls in the low single-digits, Huntsman said today he will win the New Hampshire primary despite a major campaign shakeup in the first in the nation primary state.

Regardless, his plan — and the positive response it has gotten from fiscal conservatives — is enough to get Mitt Romney worried. The former Massachusetts governor will announce his own plan on Tuesday, and he is under pressure to cater it to appeal to the tea party. Such a move would weakening his position in the eyes of the so-called "conservative intelligentsia," who haven't found a candidate to get behind — until now.

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Jon Huntsman Takes Another Swipe At GOP Rivals, Says What Everyone Else Is Thinking

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2012 GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman is keeping up the elbow jabs to his Republican rivals.

At a recent fundraiser in Salt Lake City, the former Utah Governor took another barely-veiled swing at his fellow presidential contenders.

“This is an interesting experience, for those of you who haven’t run for president,” Huntsman told the gathering of donors, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. “You stand up on the stage in the debate like we did the other night and look around and say, ‘Whoa, where’d these folks come from? What an interesting assortment of characters!’”

It's a fairly apt assessment of the crowded Republican field, especially coming from one of the candidates. We just hope Huntsman knows he rounds out the motley crew.

h/t Mike Allen

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