What does everyone think of this Huntsman guy?

[Narkos]

Just at first blush...Mormon, moderate, served in the Obama admin, speaks Chinese, was in a rock band.....haven't heard him speak yet.....is he someone to worry about? He's pretty handsome....also

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. He doomed himself by accepting a job in the Obama administration.

They'll never forgive him for that. And he might not be crazy enough.

[Vicar In A Tutu]

2. Civil Unions. Climate Change. Apology to China for the AZ immigration bill.

He has NO chance in the current climate. If Obama wins and is very popular at the end of his second term then maybe, MAYBE the GOP will know that it needs to be moderate and nominate this type of character.

[babylonsister]

3. Yep. I bet he might be around in 2016.nt

[Narkos]

4. I don't know...he makes me nervous

Although he apparently sounded like a complete dufus at that USC graduation speech.

[mzteris]

5. fundies will never support a Mormon

They'd vote for a Catholic first and that would be a cold day in hell. (well, except for the Catholic fundies...)

"Christians" don't like Mormons, doncha know. Not in the Bible Belt. Not. at. all.

[customerserviceguy]

6. He's a nothing

Doesn't have a fraction of the money (or name recognition) that Mittens has. As has been said before, his service in the Obama administration dooms him with Repukes, but that Mormon thing makes it a close second as to why he won't get even five percent of the vote in any primary he survives to run in.

[OHdem10]

7. I have not heard that much about him. so I will take a wait and

see.

It would help if I had inkling what the Establishment
Republicans think.

I understand the establishment likes Mitch Daniels,Gov Indiana.
If they have made up their minds about Mitch Daniels, then
Huntsman does not matter.

If they have not, and Huntsman can get traction with Independents
and some Democrats, he could be in like Flynn.

Republicans cannot win with only their base, they have to
have candidates who can sway Independents and a few Democrats.

[Narkos]

8. Good analysis.. Inclined to agree n/t

[BernieSandersIsGod]

9. I just don't see him running. If he does, him and Mitt will split votes and some far right

guy like Huckabee will probably get the nod.

[BernieSandersIsGod]

10. the guy is also incredibly boring. NT

[davidpdx]

11. I think Huntsman's biggest problem is that he is Mormon

like Romney. Overall, I would give Huntsman a better chance, especially if he waits until 2016.

[Kurovski]

12. I think he's a "silly little catfish".

:shrug:

[Exilednight]

13. Pawlenty is the one to worry about. He's right-wing enough to win the nomination and moderate

enough to win over independents in the general.

[Yavin4]

16. T-Paw Has 0% Chance of Winning the Nomination

Zero.

[Exilednight]

27. The same thing was said about Ronald Reagan in 1979. It's foolish and short sighted to

discount as suave as Pawlenty. Who do you think will win the Republican nomination?

Romney? He lost fiscal conservatives after Obama co-opted his HCR plan. Plus, there is no way the christian fundamentalists will elect a Mormon.

Gingrich? The guy is all over the map. He's a flip flopper on every issue coming out of the gate.

Paul? He currently comes the closest in polling to Obama. In a generic poll he only loses by 7%, but the establishment Republicans hate him. No chance in hell he wins.

That only leave Pawlenty who can unite the Republican party. Enough tea partiers like him, the Christian right likes him and the establishment loves him.

[Ikonoklast]

28. He'll never get past Iowa.

Not crazy enough.

[Exilednight]

29. He'll take the ethanol pledge, which is something that Paul won't do and no one trusts the

word of Gingrich. Besides, remember history, Reagan lost the Iowa primary by a landslide.

[Ikonoklast]

30. He's at 4% in Iowa.

Came in dead last in a straw poll in South Carolina after the debate.

Currently polling 2% in New Hampshire.


Toast.

[Exilednight]

31. Reagan only took 7% in Iowa. n/t

[Ikonoklast]

32. Unless there is a dramatic turn of events,

Pawlenty has already lost.

The winner of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary has gone on to win the party's nomination in every election since 1980.

And his numbers there spell TOAST.

[AlinPA]

14. The republican base will reject him early in the primaries. He has a degree from an Ivy League

school. Teabaggers will see him him as an elite and too educated for them. He does not talk the birther stuff. He is a mormon-fundamentalists will not like this. He worked in the Obama adminstration. He doesn't talk crazy like Palin, Bachmann, Trump, Gingrich, Santorum and those Fox 'news' people.

[chowder66]

15. I am not so sure about that....

The right has pretty much gone on a bender and they aren't sobering up anytime soon. I can see them getting behind this guy while completely ignoring the hypocrisy.

Their nuts and being accused of hypocrisy isn't considered damaging anymore.

[AlinPA]

20. He's not crazy enough, nor stupid and ignorant enough for them. Only birthers, teabaggers, racists

and gay-hating fundamentalists need apply for that job as a republican.

[chowder66]

24. I imagine you may be right but I wouldn't be shocked if they "flipped".

These are not rational people, therefore I wouldn't expect them to be consistant.

[chowder66]

23. They're not their. Too late to edit. Oops!

[Yavin4]

17. A Credible Candidate but Lacks Money

So, his chances are limited.

[Jakes Progress]

18. People who dismiss a "moderate" republican

are not very thoughtful. If the powers that run things decide that Obama should go, they will see to it that someone like Huntsman gets the nomination. Unfortunately in America, a white man who appears moderate will beat a black man who is moderate. The crazy wingers will go for a moderate republican before they vote for a black Democrat. And the vast herd of uninformed "undecideds" that were scared of the corpse and the tart that the republicans ran last time will support someone bland like Huntsman over the candidate that they helped elect in 2008.

[Hotdiggity11]

19. He worked for Obama

so there is no way he is a presidential or VP candidate.

[Jakes Progress]

26. Not touting him particularly

but republicans would win if they ran a candidate like him. He would take back the "independent" voters that went for Obama last time around. The republicans know they can't win with another set of guaranteed-to-lose candidates like they had last time.

If the republicans run a tb nut job, you know that the powers that run the country have decided to let Obama keep being their president.

[AlinPA]

21. He would have to win their nomination first.

Only birthers, teabaggers, racists and gay-hating fundamentalists need apply for that job as a republican.

[Jakes Progress]

25. If it is deemed desirable

by the people who decide, he could be the candidate. They could fuss, but they would have no alternative. Sure some would have palin or paul run as an third party, but they would receive negligible support except for the very nutty. If it is decided that Obama should lose, the republican will be a middle of the road candidate that would take back all the "independent" voters that Obama got last time.

[FrenchieCat]

22. I think he's a good looking guy, which is the only reason he's even

being considered.

When one is White, that's all one needs.

[Drunken Irishman]

33. Huntsman Hysteria cracks me up...

To show you how out of touch he is with the Republican base, Mitt Romney crushes him in a hypothetical primary poll in Utah. Now mind you, Romney's only real ties to the state are his family & the fact he helped with the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics. He doesn't live here. Isn't from here and has never made his home here. Huntsman, though, is a life-long Utahn, his family is the most prominent family in the state (the University of Utah's basketball stadium is named after his father) and he was a popular governor - yet he loses in a landslide to Romney.

Huntsman ain't going anywhere. When was the last time Republicans nominated someone solely because they were good looking and charismatic? It's not why they picked McCain, Bush, Dole, Bush again or even Reagan. They don't have a history choosing candidates who are cool - so that fact about Huntsman doesn't really concern me.

Huntsman is a non-starter as a candidate because he's too moderate. And I'm not saying he's moderate in the Mitt Romney sense - Huntsman is a moderate.

He believes in Global Warming. He believes in sensible immigration laws. He's pro-civil unions. And the topper? He's worked in the Obama White House.

You can't dismiss that latter point. I'm pretty sure a former Bush administration official would have bombed in the 2004 Democratic Primary.

Ultimately, Huntsman has no name recognition. He's polling at 1% nationally and I don't see how he bumps that up to the needed number to contend in a great deal of contests.

Sure, sometimes candidates can come from obscurity to win the nomination, but it's rare. It's especially rare when they're not even making a dent nationally at this point. The highest Huntsman polls is 1%. How does he quickly reconcile that?

He can't.

My take is that Huntsman is putting his name out there for 2016. Then again, maybe Huntsman is stupid enough to run.

[center rising]

34. I like Huntsman but...

We don't have to worry about him winning anything.