Jon Huntsman Drops Out, Slams Discourse

Tanned, rested, and out.

I always liked Jon Huntsman… he seemed smart and experienced and he wasn’t afraid to slam his fellow Republicans who shunned things like science and common sense.  Perhaps because he served under the Obama administration once (Chinese ambassador) or maybe because two Mormons in one political contest is too much, he never caught on and remained just above Gary Johnson in terms of name recognition.

Here is what Jon Huntsman said about the poisoned nature of the race for president:

“This race has degenerated into an onslaught of negative and personal attacks not worthy of the American people and not worthy off this critical time in American history,” Huntsman said in a news conference in which he was flanked by his wife, children, father and South Carolina supporters.

Huntsman did not name names in aiming criticism at his rivals, but he did take a shot at President Obama for engaging in what Huntsman called “class warfare” and said it contributed to divisiveness in American politics. But Huntsman, who often talked on the campaign trail about rebuilding trust in the political process, made clear that he thinks the GOP race has taken an ugly turn.

Huntsman can be said to partially share the blame for making things take “an ugly turn” in that he was so far back in the ranks he had little chance of winning anything so he engaged in personal attacks himself in a bid to “score big” and move up in the rankings.  For example, he went after Romney for his comment about liking to fire people (taken out of context, of course) and previously Huntsman had said Romney was not electable even though upon quitting the race he endorsed his opponent (jockeying for a position if he wins?).

Outside of Romney, Perry, Santorum, Paul, and Gingrich remain.  Perry, originally the man to beat upon entering the race went from Hero to Zero once he opened his mouth and let everyone know he was confused about the facts.  Santorum has no chance but thinks that because only he is the One True Conservative he will win.  Problem is, Santorum might get an A+ from the Pope but he also loved the pork (which Ron Paul pointed out during the New Hampshire debate).  Gingrich is making it personal with his bizarre “I speak French” attack ad on Romney and Paul appeals mostly to Democrats and Independents more so than rank-and-file Republicans.

I liked Huntsman, I thought he would have made a technically proficient (if somewhat boring) president even though he’d be likely to tie America down in multi-national agreements on things like Global Warming treaties and perhaps would be too reluctant to use the stick with foreign powers.

South Carolina should separate the men from the boys and barring some huge surprises Perry should be gone after and, maybe, Santorum unless the religious vote saves him there the way it did George W. Bush while putting his opponent, John McCain, to sleep.

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