This will bump him up at least a couple points.  

You gotta respect Huntsman. Why? Principles. The man hasn’t wavered in his views. No allegations/scandals/gaffes. I think his biggest problem is that he’s ‘guilty by association’ since he served under Obama. Sucks for him.

Although I’m not Republican, I kinda like Huntsman.

he may love Newhampshire but they don’t seem to care for him

Huntsman had a good interview with Stephen Colbert a couple weeks ago.  I think he’s probably the one Republican who could be elected, but the Republicans will not select him as their candidate this time.

He has a few, but he’s not consistent, and he certainly will pander (for example, his approval of the so-called “Ryan Plan”, which among other things takes the ACA as is right out of the budget, thereby adding back in all the effects the CBO sees in providing the next 4 administrations with the controls over medical costs desperately needed to halt their rapid growth – assuming Congress stops passing Doc Fixes to get around that effect). 

What’s remarkable is it’s the GOP, not the media that have been producing the GOP Game Show, or at least not the media by itself, that’s been enabling a contestant with under 0.0% in recent polling to participate in most episodes of the Show whenever he’s available (though not tonight; it was No Cults Saturday for the GOP Game Show, though apparently they accidentally let everyone talk about nothing else except the most popular cult among the GOP base, literalist Xianism – and hoo boy, talk about your CULTS!). This kind of suggests the GOP producers recognize this group is such a mixed bag of nuts it’s simply not believable as a reality TV show unless they have some average Joe the Billionaire’s Son on to provide gravitas, or gravol or something.

It’s useful to the GOP brand, or so thinks the GOP we’re told, to have at least one relatively sane panderer around, to leave the impression that the GOP MIGHT just have MORE than one, and Who know: it just MIGHT be one of your Senators or your Congressman. It’s the Power Ball Chance of Winning theory: if there’s one sane admitted Republican in the GOP Game Show, the odds are at least 1 in 280 or better that there’s at least two. On observation, I find the odds are as dubious as suggesting the odds are 7 to 3 that the Crimson Tide will manage to beat Vassar in a homecoming game. 

What’s not to like … except for his policies?

“the Republicans will not select him as their candidate …” 
I’m with you so far …

“… this time”

Ah sheesh, you lost me there. Where’s the evidence that this current bout of insanity is only temporary? It’s been going on since 1980 at least; that’s something a bit more serious than a head cold.

OH MY GOD, LOOK AT THAT DUFUS STARING OFF AWAY FROM THE CAMERA. DOESN’T HE REALIZE HOW FOOLISH HE LOOKS ON NATIONAL TELEVISION? I BET HE’S TOO STUPID TO EVEN KNOW WHERE THE CAMERA IS, LET ALONE FOREIGN COUNTRIES. THE GOP IS FULL OF STUPID IGNORANT RETARDS WHO CAN’T EVEN POINT THEIR EYEBALLS THE RIGHT WAY.

I’m sorry, what? He supports cap and trade, believes in evolution, and used to work for president Obama?

….

CLEARLY IT WAS AN HONEST MISTAKE! HE MUST’VE NOT REALIZED WHERE THE CAMERA WAS. WHAT A GUY! HE’S EVEN GOT A SENSE OF HUMOR! HE’S THE ONLY REPUBLICAN WITH A SHOT OF GETTING ELECTED. TOO BAD THEY’RE TOO STUPID TO REALIZE WHAT A BRILLIANT, SANE MAN THEY HAVE HERE!

NOT THAT IDIOT WOMAN MICHELE BACHMANN, THOUGH. SHE EVEN THINKS GAY PEOPLE HAVE FREE WILL!

This is the first time I posted over here so I was trying to be nice.  I know a number of nice lapsed Republicans who have hopes for the future, but the last Republican I voted for was in 2000, and it sure wasn’t Bush.

I like the part where you used something like believing in evolution as a negative.

Geez, Huntsman was stiffer than Herman Cain’s penis on secretary evaluation day.

That Bill Haider is getting better and better

No gaffes because he gets almost no questions in the debates.  Plus there hasn’t been any media focus on him either to catch his missteps yet….everyone makes them even Obama.  However Obamas are almost never reported.

My belief is that Huntsman is doing his mandatory practice run, and he will be the Republican nominee in 2016.
My prediction is that Obama will be re-elected and the Dems will gain seats back in the house. Dems will be running the show for at least two years, then the Repubs will start coming back and by 2016 the nation will be ready for Huntsman.
I still support libs over cons, but I see this as an inevitable swing of the pendulum.

Huntsman caught lying

http://www.mediaite.com/online/political-bombshell-slate-reports-that-jon-huntsman-doesnt-really-know-mandarin/

Is Jon Huntsman a phony? According to Slate writer Geoffrey Sant,
who is a “commentator on Chinese-language media”, the Utah Governor is
not really fluent in Chinese as he has frequently claimed and has
bungled it each time he’s spoken it on various news programs.
Sant notes that Huntsman has been widely described as fluent in Mandarin in countless published sources (Esquire, The Economist, even Mediaite!) Sant claims that Huntsman botched Mandarin in both his interviews with Stephen Colbert and Piers Morgan.

I felt guilty for laughing at that.   {but not much}

Welcome. Please stick around. This board desperately needs more nice. Thoughtful too.

I like Huntsman too as a more reasonable candidate. When he talks about the issues he is often more nuanced and intelligent. He seems more willing to have a rational conversation and work out an effective compromise.

and , I thought he was pretty funny on SNL for a non pro performer.

I’m a little surprised anyone else has noticed Huntsman pandering to the extremists on the Republican side. Early in his campaign, Huntsman was intentionally walking the straight and narrow, telling it like it is (telling like the vast majority of scientists say it is) on evolution and climate change. But he has veered off a bit.

It is too bad those on his side don’t even notice him. It is too bad we’ve yet to have a discussion on his qualities and attributes.

Huntsman, Santorum, and Paul are the only ones who believe in what they’re saying. The rest are all phonies. These three would give the conservatives a good choice for their party:
- mainline conservatism at ease with science and liberal opponents existence
- a shift to pretty hardcore Christian fundamentalism
- or trying Libertarian hypothesis on the whole US without ever having tested it responsibly in regional experiments.
- Or they can go with the crazies who tell the extremists what they demand to be told: evolution is from the Devil, climate change is just one more coverup in the long history of coverups in science, homosexuals are the Devil, Muslims are the Devil, Jesus wants you to carry a handgun to shoot all the devils, America is the new Jerusalem, and let’s get this country ready for Jesus to come back.

It is almost like the Republicans want to lose.

Haters gonna hate. The Huntsman train is coming, CHO-CHO! 

Poor Huntsman- he appeals to no one except loser libs.

Huntsman will not be the candidate in 2012. Unless he runs on the Dem. ticket.

The Rs will gain the Senate and hold the House. I have no clue what will happen with the Presidency. The Democratic vote will be so suppressed and a significant amount (who knows the percentage) of the White vote will leave Obama. Is that enough to switch tides? I don’t know. You’ll have a down conservative base either way if Romney is the nominee.

Jeb Bush will be the establishment pick in 2016. That’s why Rove doesn’t care if the Rs lose this election cycle.

The Dem. brand has been hit and I don’t expect to see a Dem. candidate for the Presidency for awhile after Obama. I don’t know how the Dem. side after Obama contains the same level of enthusiasm.

If it weren’t for Supreme Court picks, I’d be ok with losing this election.

In most normal election cycle he would be a center right conservative,but in todays republican party is a liberal.
To bad, Huntsman would make a strong Republican candidate to independents.

Huntsman is an oddity!! He’s way too intelligent to be a Republicon and really the only one Democrats fear in a general election against Obama!!

You’re an expert on being a loser.

 While I agree that Santorum and Paul also believe in what they are saying, few Independents will go Santorum’s way – especially liberal Independents like me. And Paul comes across as too hare-brained and wacky to be Presidential. Only Ambassador Huntsman believes what he is saying AND looks Presidential. Unfortunately, the Repub’s will not put him forward as the candidate, so they will lose to Obama again.

Save the predictions for the professionals, pootytang.  You suck at them…..

WCinWI: “The Palin campaign will be epic. The Left won’t know what’s happening.
I will especially love when Palin debates Obama. To shove it in your face alone. :)

WCinWI replied to you
I can’t wait for a Cain vs. Obama debate.

Palin’s campaign would’ve been epic. That’s fo sho.

The Left is lucky this election cycle. Anything following this will be a joke.

I still can’t wait for a Cain vs. Obama debate. Just as I can’t wait for a Newt vs. Obama debate or Romney vs. Obama debate.

ABO.

I dug that. Good natured stuff. I liked the ender.

wcinwi2: “I have no clue”

You finally got something right.

Rent-free dude. You will always be rent-free. Own it.

Perhaps if you paused to think for a moment and consider the context of what I wrote, you’d understand that I was listing qualities which liberals have used to describe him as the only “non-crazy” candidate, not listing his negatives.

just like Paul. His supporters can vote 25 times online.

uh huh, didn’t I read those crticisms of Huntsman’s Mandarin were bogus? 

I think you’re fooling yourself. The Democrats haven’t been damaged any more than the GOP. People seem to think the government, both parties, are failing to do their job.

I agree Santorum doesn’t have a snowball’s chance of winning the independents. His extremism in being a social conservative is a huge turn off.
Paul is extreme on some issues but I tend to think congress would balance him out and at least his honesty would get the discussion headed in the right direction. I also agree Huntsman has a decent shot at winning over the independents but the GOP is to far gone to nominate him.

@WCinWI2:disqus
I just hit an accidental like to WC. (Hate it when the reply buttons run out.)
Yes. If you own it, you don’t have to pay rent. But what is this whole rent free thing anyway?

If Huntsman ever did make a gaff, it would be reported and bring him more attention. Same goes for R. Paul. In this race, the less attention you get, the better as long as the clowns hang around.
Expect Huntsman to shoot up in the polls once Bachman, Santorum, and Perry drop out, followed by Gingrich. The attention they get is deadly for their campaigns.

Exit stage left, Huntsman. We all know you’re going to endorse Obama when all is said and done and nobody cares.

We have gone over this at length elsewhere on Mediaite.
Mandarin Chinese is one of the most difficult languages to be perfect in. Plus, there are different accents within the Mandarin dialect. There is a significant difference between the Beijing accent the Taiwan accent. A speaker of one would criticize the speaker of the other. They even use two different sets of Chinese characters. One is used in Beijing and the other is used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, and elsewhere. 
It would be fair to say that Huntsman was faking it if Huntsman spoke pure gibberish and thought he could get away with it, but to criticize the man’s choice of grammatical structure is to give him an A minus instead of an A.

I like Huntsman. He’s down to earth, no pretense. He was a highschool dropout who played in a band and rode a bike. I worked for his father’s company before it was the largest privately held chemical company in North America, was only three plants, and he knew everyone’s name. When his father was inducted into the plastics hall of fame junior showed up to accept. He was ambassador to Singapore at the time. It’s a black tie event and he shows up with dockers and a jacket with patches on the shoulder, sitting at the table with us rookie engineers and salesmen. He has my vote.