Weekend press and more info on Hunstman

The New York Post ran a piece on Romney on Saturday, in which it was shown how much he flipflops...I guess that is how he got to be a red governor in a blue state.
On Sunday, the New York Times did a feature on Huntsman, and yet again, an underlying theme there was, who is this guy? Even his campaign staff do not seem to know; many of them have just met him for the first time.
Matt Bai hangs out with him for a few days and gives us a view of the happenings, which are very illuminating. What I make of it is that Huntsman is a rather capable bloke in many fields, and I have a respect for him as he learned the Chinese language and culture. Or I ought to be more specific and say he learned Mandarin and the Chinese culture. And by way of digression, I might just add that this has become a very useful language to learn if you want a job...but getting back to our speaker of Mandarin, who is looking for a job on Pennsylvania Avenue, I think that despite this qualification, he will best serve the US as a diplomat, political analyst, governor of his native state, or, as the article suggest he might be looking at himself, in the post of VP. I see nothing to really dislike in him, and those voters whom he met found him an affable fellow; however, they did not find answers to specific questions on policies, and this did not sit too well with the likes of Travis Blais, the GOP chairman in Windham, New Hampshire. "His attitude seems to be, 'Well, I'm just up here introducing myself to people, and I'll let you know what my positions are later," Blais told the NYT; Blais summed it up with: " Frankly, people noticed...people said, 'Nice guy, very smart, but I have no idea what he thinks.' "
So there. Not quite presidential, but not a bad fish. Nate Silver, a politics blogger for the NYT, opined that Huntsman has not more than a remote chance of scoring the nomination. Even with the vast wealth of his father, who by the way invented the clamshell takeaway containter, he will most likely not be able to convince people to give him the #1 job in America, even if he does speak Mandarin.

Biography of Huntsman

The other day I did a post on Huntsman, of whom until then I had no knowledge, so I have been curious. The New York Times did another article on him, written by Jim Rutenberg on 23 June, in which they too asked: "Who is this guy? Utah, right?"
So I was not alone in my thoughts on this man who would be prez. Up in Exeter, N.H., where he went to canvass, a Leona Nelson was quoted as saying: "I didn't know anything about him when he came in today." He was in South Carolina on Wednesday, and folks there did not know much more about him either.
But in GOP circles it seems he has some explaining to do; Rutenberg ends his piece on this note, alluding to his role as US Ambassador to China under Obama. This does not do him a lot of good and does not get him the crossover votes that Ron Paul would have along with staunch GOP votes. Rather, it confuses the picture. And his term in Asia was not noted for anything significant; but neither was Bush's, who had that post and became prez; but not without also being head of the Republican Party, and a head of the CIA, and also a Congressman; from Texas. Which is where we hope another US president will be from in 2012.
But getting back to the contender, Jon M. Huntsman Jr., he is the eldest son of Jon M. Huntsman (once an acknowledged member of the Forbes 400, where he was ranked the 47th richest man alive) who started the Huntsman Corporation, a multi-billion dollar chemical and synthetic dye company, somewhat along the lines of the Du Pont Corp; even their logo is similar, "better lives through innovation". The Huntsmans are Mormons who previously supported Mitt Romney for president. Huntsman Jr. was elected governor of Utah in 2004, later became ambassador to China. His brother Peter R. Huntsman, Sr., took over as CEO of the Huntsman Corporation in 2000.
So there. He does not seem a bad choice, but just not quite what it takes to get into the Oval Office, and looking ahead, I could see him as a VP or in some top cabinet post, maybe Secretary of State. Just not as president, at least not yet.

The Hunt for Red November

Tuesday this week a Utah pol appeared in front of the Statue of Liberty here in NYC and threw his hat in the ring for GOP presidential candidate. The New York Times, along with a piece on his presentation, wrote an article about how some GOP candidates are chasing down money; and a third on Gingrich, whose aides are quitting faster than leaves from the trees in November. Which month he hopes to be his. But it won't. He may end up simply chasing down aides, or fallen leaves in the snow.
But back to Huntsman, Jon M. He is the former governor of Utah, which is news to me and I consider myself rather well informed. No slight to the state of Utah, but just what does its former governor stand for? I mean, I can recall lots about the former gov of Minnesota, that navy seal/WWF wrestler and investigator, and even more about the former governor of Texas, who went on to become 43, and about the former gov of NY, actually a number of those, and about those of California....and let's not forget the former, as in quit, governor of Alaska. But of the former first citizen of Utah, who was NY this week, there is no file, good or bad. Which does not say he is bad. It's just that he seems a little optimistic in his aims.
So I'm not out to knock him, this site is for Ron Paul of course, but it is not a mudslinging contest. It is, however, a bit of a test of name recognition, and with all due respect, I doubt that Jon M. will fare well in  that regard. Knowing so little about him I am merely curious...will post a bit more when I check out his record.
Ron Paul, meanwhile, seems to be pacing himself well, he is not getting as much publicity as the other contenders, but maybe because his staff is a long serving body out doing their work and he is not getting into any scandals or outlandish photo ops - what that says is he will impart an air of dignity to the Oval Office, where he belongs.