The Republican media created the Tea Party and the movers and shakers of the party don’t like where things are going.

John Huntsman is getting a lot of exposure.  David Frum:

I was one of 36 people to cast a straw poll ballot for Jon Huntsman at this year’s Conservative Policy Action Conference and, like a lot of other reform-minded Republicans, I admire his concern about the environment and his modern views on social issues (although I’m glad he’s pro-life).

The thing that makes me happiest about his entry into the race, however, is the fact that he offers Republicans a second candidate (the first is Mitt Romney) who has shown he knows how to run a government.

The beltway talking heads love him – he’s conservative but doesn’t come across as crazy. He’s a Mitt Romney without a massive record of flip flops on nearly everything.  He is running for president but not in 2012.  The power brokers in the Republican party are looking ahead to 2016.  While Romney has the best chance of beating Obama there is still a good chance he couldn’t.  For the sane Republicans this would be a disaster – still more of he lost because he wasn’t crazy conservative enough.  What the Republican power brokers want in 2012 is a crazy tea party endorsed candidate who will lose the general election by a big margin.  Bachman fits the bill but look for them to trying to sell the moronic Texas governor Rick Perry. 

Obama has an advantage in 2012 as an incumbent but even more important may be the fact that the people in Ohio and Florida elected Republican  governors in 2010 that are already despised.