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Huntsman Having His Moment ?
Returns from New Hampshire are showing Jon Huntsman in 3rd place, behind Romney and Paul.
The question is whether this is his one moment in the sun or if it will carry over. In theory he is well suited to South Carolina but he has not had much of a presence there.
I suspect it will be just a flash for Huntsman but I hope he goes futher. His biggest problem as I see it is that with Romney as the frontrunner the 2nd spot will go to the anti-Romney and Huntsman is not positioned to take that role since he is Romney.
6 Responses to “Huntsman Having His Moment ?”
Sorry, but Huntsman seems to be more of a true moderate, where Romney is more of a chameleon.
And don’t forget the anti-mormon vote. If they won’t vote for Romney, they sure will not vote for Huntsman, even though he probably is the most qualified and honest candidate in the field.
I do think that if Romney had crashed and someone like Perry or Gingrich had emerged as front runner that Huntsman would be solid bet for the alternative.
“the 2nd spot will go to the anti-Romney and Huntsman is not positioned to take that role since he is Romney.”
From where I’m standing, Huntsman is in a weird way the anti-Romney.
One of the best nicknames I’ve heard for Romney is “Mittens the Pander-Bear,” because it sticks so well. The guy is a political weather vane to put it mildly, and seems to be in favor of the same things as whatever the audience in front of him at any moment.
Huntsman, from what I can tell, is actually the same guy no matter what. He’s basically the same candidate that Romney is at this point, but unlike Mittens, he’s always been that candidate.
Huntsman will have to hold on until Florida. It will be hard enough for Mitt to pull out a win in SC. Huntsman IS the second mormon in the race and that does present problems with many social conservatives.
He did really well in NH and he might do well in Florida, but the rest of the South won’t go for him.
Staying in the race until the end may do him some good. By showing he can place in more moderate Rep states. He may be able to set himself up for a stronger run at a later election cycle.
Huntsman’s only real future this year is if he’s chosen as VP by Romney or whoever else gets the nomination, to try to attract more moderate voters. And Romney’s so mushy, why choose Huntsman? No guarantee there.
(Mushy? Pliable, beyond any chameleon, more than any huge questions about his conservatism)