This has been rumoured for some time but it still doesn’t make any sense: Jon Huntsman, former Governor of Utah and currently US Ambassador to Beijing, is preparing to run for the GOP’s presidential nomination. Maybe. Politico has the latest on this madness.
Madness? Well it’s certainly rum. If you think Mitt Romney is going to have problems explaining away the similarities between Romneycare in Massachusetts and Obamacare then imagine how difficult it is going to be for Huntsman to explain away actually working for the Obama administration. It’s not, as Ramesh Ponnuru points out, as though he holds some tin-pot job either. Ambassador to China is a hefty, responsible job.
Most popular
James Walton
Anjelica Huston is comprehensively upstaged in the BBC’s new Agatha Christie
Secondly, how many smooth, wealthy, technocratic Mormons can one primary season need? Where and how does Huntsman differentiate himself from Romney? The obvious place is foreign policy where he could, perhaps, adopt a less stridently nationalistic pose than the rest of the GOP field.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in