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Subscribe to RSSPORTSMOUTH, N.H. -- This fall, Jon Huntsman staked his entire troubled White House bid on New Hampshire and tonight, at what his campaign is calling his 100th stop in the state, he made it clear that both his mind and actions are engrossed in the first-in-the-nation-primary state -- and nowhere else.
"I don't care what the rest of the country thinks or feels. That's not important. I do care about what the people of New Hampshire feel, because this is important," he told voters in a town hall meeting at the Portsmouth Elks Lodge.
The former governor of Utah quickly clarified to reporters that he was referring specifically to national poll numbers.
"I don't care too much where the polls are right now in the rest of the country, I care what they say here in New Hampshire," the former ambassador to China said.
Huntsman is currently polling at 1 percent nationally and remains in the single digits in New Hampshire, though with minor increases over the past few months.
Huntsman also claimed he has yet to see a new television ad funded by a super PAC supporting his candidacy. Our Destiny PAC, which has spent nearly half a million dollars and is believed to be funded by his billionaire father, began running primetime spots in New Hampshire and Boston-area markets introducing Huntsman on Tuesday.
"We've been on the road all day so I'm looking forward to seeing it at some point," Huntsman said. "But anything from the outside that serves to bolster our efforts in New Hampshire I am mighty grateful for."
When asked if had spoken to his father about the advertisement, Huntsman shook his head, "No, no." Our Destiny PAC is not affiliated with the Huntsman campaign.
Early on in the evening, Huntsman also seized an opportunity to make fun of front-runner Herman Cain on his recent gaffe on Libya during an editorial board meeting in Milwaukee.
"You didn't ask me the question on Libya!" Huntsman exclaimed to knowing laughter, after a supporter regaled the audience of how she decided to endorse him after a long series of questions. "You missed that one!"
Huntsman was quick to slam his opponents on policy matters too. Criticizing the rest of the field by name, Huntsman told voters that his tax reform plan is the only "realistic" option in the field.
"We need something that at least will pass the straight face test in Congress," Huntsman said. "9-9-9? Who on earth is going to vote for a 9 percent increase in your sales tax?"
"Romney's trimming around the edges as usual and Rick Perry's got a flat tax that is optional," he said.
In the final two months ahead of the January 10 primary, several self-proclaimed undecided Republican voters attended this town hall meeting to take a closer look at Huntsman. Among the more than 120 in attendance was John Hill, a registered Republican who arrived this evening undecided overall and decidedly against supporting Mitt Romney in the primary. Hill said he came to listen after receiving a mass mailing from the campaign, with hopes that Huntsman would be an alternative in what he called a "dissatisfactory field."
"If ever we needed a dark horse, we need one now," said Hill, who supported Giuliani last cycle. "I don't know who I would vote for tomorrow if I had to choose between the 'three bigs' now."
After nearly two hours listening to Huntsman answer questions on trade, China, jobs and healthcare, Hill told NBC News he planned to sign up as a volunteer and donate $100 to the campaign.
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I'd vote for Huntsman in a second, all the other GOP candidates are baffoons at best.
Huntsman would be a great VP choice for Newt Gingrich who clearly has the experience for the job. Jon just hasn't been able to get his name out to the rest of the country as he should have.
The key is to make Obama a 'Jimmy Carter' one termer, he has not been the leader we need right now!
...is that any different from a George Herbert Walker Bush one termer?
Exactly what type of leader have we needed right now?
"I don't care what the rest of the country thinks or feels. That's not important"
W H H A A A A A T???
Newt Gingrich was elected by one district within a state, he was never elected to statewide office of any type. He was Speaker for 4 years before his own party threw him under the bus because of ethics violations; he paid a $300,000 fine. He was having an affair while his first wife was ill with cancer and while he lambasted and went on a witch hunt to impeach President Clinton for having an affair--he claimed his love of country caused him to have the first affair. This man may be reasonably intelligent but he is also a liar of convenience. Anyone who thinks Newt Gingrich should be the next President better take a closer look, a much closer look.
Here's what I don't get. Republicans have branded Huntsman as a traitor because he served as Obama's Ambassador to China. What does holding a post halfway around the world have to do with anything at all? Yes, yes, each party has a different approach to economic/foreign affairs, but there's a lot of crossover between them, too.
But the real question is: Whatever happened to the notion of serving one's country regardless of political affiliation? Personally, I think it's a plus for a presidential candidate--irrespective of political party--to have held a significant post outside of this country. Living abroad gives you a perspective that you can never get if you spend your entire living in Texas (not to pick on Texas, but the buffoon from that state currently running for president demonstrates his parochialism at every turn).
Sorry Jody you're not being very fair about Gingrich. Perhaps you should visit his lengthy bio at wikipedia or other sources.
Regarding his affair, it was going on prior to the discovery of his wife's (Battley) cancer. And her response to the affair was later found to be a little disingenuous.
It is interesting that many in the left are so outraged by his marital infidelity, yet gave J. Edwards, Weiner, Clinton, E.Kennedy such a pass in theirs. More hypocrisy from the left it seems. Come to think of it those words "Hypocrisy from the Left" should be their slogan for this generation!
I guess Huntsman was referring to the nuts on the far right of GOP who wouldn't take a pick at what he's selling.
Hey, Anna Molly:
A little off thread here, but in that discussion with Kirk yesterday, he called David an "idealogue", and you and David responded with "ideologue"--which is what I think Kirk meant. Not sure that he knows the difference.
Pride and Joy,
If you're going to quote your source as Wikipedia, you'll get no respect in these posts.
"More hypocrisy from the left it seems."
You're full of it up to your eyebrows, P adn J- who the hell gave Edwards a 'pass'?
Also- is he running for President this cycle? Is Kennedy? Clinton? Did THEY preach 'family values' all the time?
Newt was paid 1.6 million in consulting fees from Fannie and Freddie as the mortgage fiasco was developing...enough said.
Jackie, I don't believe Pride quoted anything from wikipedia, all she suggested was that others should check "wikipedia or other sources, before making comments that are not correct.
Liberals at FR continue to repeat misleading or false facts about Newt and many other Republican over and over again hoping that doing so will make it fact. I'm sorry folks, that just ain't gonna happen....
George,
Uhh. . . my name isn't Jackie. It's Jack. Big difference. Put on your reading glasses next time.
No, she didn't quote Wikipedia, but she suggested it as a source to learn about Newt. The point is, Wikipedia is filled with errors, so it's not a reliable source, and anyone who uses it as a source shouldn't be taken seriously.
Oh, and by the way, Newt is bag of hot air. Doesn't matter what he did or didn't do in the past (although, are you going to tell me he wasn't having an affair when he was leading the troops to impeach Clinton?), he's a buffoon who's going nowhere.
IMHO Huntsman is by far the best candidate among all the others in the GOP field. The fact that he polls so low among Republicans proves it!
Jive and ploy or is it pride and joy,
Are you serious ? the left are hipocrits? Newt is the one who was leading the impeachment proceedings while he was cheating not us..We know you are a member of the occult ( Fox Nation ) so it is you who will get a pass...And we don't give weiner a pass for sexual harrassment or edwards a pass for using campaign funds improperly but for Bill Clinton that is between him and his wife she has known about him for a long time...And how about Newt being a lobbyist ? OH that's right you are in the cult and fox is spinning that...Its kiinda funny that his $300,000.00 fine is the same amount of the first payment from the mortgage giant...And he was supposed to not spin that he wasn't guilty of ethics violations by agreement with congress as part of the deal but that would require him to be ethical which he is not...And he is the biggest hipocrit therefore so are you and do you work for him ? Oh you wouldn't tell me if you did because that would be ethical.....
Miked, for 3 years Republicans have blamed housing, Freddie Mac, for devastating the American People with millions of job losses, and devastating American Families with the loss of our homes but we always knew it was the Republican Bush Administration -- now we know how the Republicans did it.
lemp-1487085 wrote:
Yeah, Newt was the "consultant" for Freddie Mac all 8 years that Bush was in office, and together they took out the entire American Economy, lost millions of the American People's jobs, and millions of American Families' homes.
Republicans are just trying to keep corrupt Republicans in office who are responsible for the 2nd Great Depression.
Get a clue Republicans, please!
Huntsman is there nominee that is the plan they figure if the whole gop hates him the independant and dems that don't like Obama will vote for him and the republicans will vote for whoever the cult " Fox nation " tells them to... Otherwise they are all moving to Murdochville soon to be founded possibly in the outback........
He's the only sane one in that entire group. Too bad that disqualifies him with his core audience.
I personally like him, although I will probably vote for Obama anyway. But it would be nice to have a difficult decision rather than an immediate no-brainer. At least it would show a glimmer of hope in the darkness that is the GOP. But no, they have to be the Party of No while the Democrats are the Saviors, at least for now. I just hope the GOP nominee either folds before Obama or drops out.
OBAMA BIDEN 2012
The moment Huntsman made sense by agreeing Global warming as true, and Evolution is the only valid scientific theory in Biology, I thought he would be a no-show in the national polls. Unfortunately, he is.
The fact that huntsman is unpopular with right wingers show that he does use reason and logic. Facts and reality are GOP/TP krytonite. GOP/TPers will have a huge problem voting for a mormon anyway. Ironically, they call mormonism a cult while 95% of them belong to a cult, albeit a cult with a different name, but a cult none the less
Right that cult is called ( Fox Nation ) headed by Rupert Murdoch..
Huntsman as governor of Utah as breath of fresh air for the state of Utah and who gained bi-partisan popularity in this conservative state an indication that he might be able to effectively work with a divided Congress and get laws passed and move this Country forward.
It takes 2 to tango friend. From my perspective, the issue lies more within the Congress than the WH...
Well said, Allen.
Huntsman will not make it! The GOP wants someone to tell them big fat juicy lies ... ones that can match their fantasies .... as Frank would sing "Fly Me To The Moon" and throw in a little "I hate Obama" chorus!
Common sense and measured even handed judgement ... is not going to get it ... that's way too close to communism!
Huntsman is a good and honorable man. What in the world is he doing hanging around those crooks, cranks, crazies, and clowns of the GOP? If he's not careful, he'll get a bad reputation.
His honesty, integrity, common sense, and intelligence disqualifies his as a legitimate GOP candidate under their current regime that emphasizes ignorance, hatred, intolerance, and divisiveness. It's too bad. He's a good man.
I'm a left leaning moderate. I have to ask myself; does he appeal to me because he seems reasonable compared to the other Republican candidates, or does he really represent my views? I really don't know the answer to that question. What I do know is that of all the Republican candidates, Jon Huntsman is the only one who doesn't seem like a Tea Party robot, and who might possibly try to represent all Americans instead of the small segment of far right conservatives. He's the only one who hasn't signed the Norquest pledge, and the only one who seems willing to respect my views. I hope they will give him more time in future debates, because I'd like to hear more of what he has to say.
Solid post.. and, I think you nailed it...
At the end of the day.. Huntsman comes off as a pragmatist.. and not a rabid right wing ideologue..
Which means of course.. he will get - 0 - support from the base of the republican party..
Gov. Huntsman is an "establishment" Republican. He worked in the administrations of Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and had a ready job working for his father's company. He has never explained why he left the second Bush administration to run for governor of Utah, a small state where his family's name and Mormon heritage worked to his advantage. And he says he was a two-term governor, but he actually only served one term, and resigned to become ambassador to China after he was re-elected.
I would like to hear more from Huntsman.
As so many others have already said, he probably won't get the nomination, becasuse he isn't parroting all of the extreme nonsense.
Too bad--Republicans need something better than what they are offered.
good post dave. I'm also a left leaning moderate. I'd like to hear more from Huntsman. I can't for the life of me, understand why the republicans are supporting those joke of candidates. They seem to be scaring dems, independents, and old style republicans away. It appears to me that these tea party people don't actually want to win, they just want to have 4 more years of whinning.
Just left of the center line here also, I too am interested to hear more from Huntsman. I didn't make my last decision to vote for Obama until I first knew more about Palin. I think alot of people made that same judgement. If Huntsman ran with Tom Ridge as his Running Mate, I could see myself voting for that ticket.
You peeps would still support him after fe said he is for the medi-care killing Ryan plan?
So he's focused entirely on New Hampshire... and what are his poll numbers there? Ought to be a clue that it might be time to start looking at doing something else.
Though, in all seriousness, this race is so whacky it probably is worth the time of sticking around. I'm sure Pawlenty is thinking, "what if..."
But on the other hand, look at the party opposition to Romney (clearly, 3/4 of the party doesn't want him - most would probably give him luke warm support if he was the nominee, but they don't want him). If that's because of the flipper routine, then that's one thing. But it's probably a combination of flipper and mormonism, at which point any rise by Huntsman would most likely run into some ceiling, too. In a way, Hunstman came into the race with two strikes - Mormon and ambassador for the Obama Administration - and then portraying himself as reasonable and adult is Strike Three, thanks for playing.
Probably the ONLY Republican candidate who could beat President Obama is Huntsman. But he will never get the teapublican nomination. He has a functioning brain and uses it. That's an automatic disqualification from the teapublican field. Teapublicans want then stupid like Perry and Bachmann.
Cain, Bachmann, and Perry aren't stupid, they just think we are. They are not in it to win, they are in it to sell books, maybe do some Reality TV, or Faux News Program, and maybe take a bus tour with paid speaking engagements. You know... Palin-ing it. Santorum just wants to be wanted, he can't help it.
Cant you moonbats put away this stupid talking point? We dont give hoot what Obama worshippers like you think about the GOP field. We will pick our own candidate, who will demolish your failed President.
He is everyones president....not just "Ours" a plurality voted for him..The only ones who didn't live within an occult ( Fox Nation ) and if he is not your leader please move to Murdochville already.... I think the land in the outback is ready..
We will pick our own candidate, who will demolish your failed President.
Well Bob --- you're half right. Yes -- teatards like you will pick your own candidate. And the candidate you pick (Romney) will not win the election. Obama will be reelected and in you don't come up with a better selection of candidates in 2016, a Democrat will win that one too.
He is the only one with enough intelligence to mount a credible campaign against Obama.
"The former governor of Utah quickly clarified to reporters that he was referring specifically to national poll numbers"
Yet the First Read headline doesnt change; the usual hype.
"...I don't care what the rest of the country thinks or feels. That's not important..."
Jon, that is not a good statement to make when you're running for President of the U.S.
You're not running for President of New Hampshire.
Have you been talking with the village idiot (George W. Bush), Hermie Cain, or John Boner (Speaker of the House) lately?
Having lived in new hampshire, I believe Huntsman has a decent chance of catching fire there. Many NH voters decide at the last minute, and they like to be contrarian to what the pundits say.
Bob-1887910
Once he's cremated or as you put it "catching fire" in New Hampshire there will be one less Republican candidate to contend with.
Who do you think will be the next to go? My money is on Bachmann and then Cain.
C'mon 'left wing media'!! What are you trying to do giving this guy exposure!
ssshhhhh!!
I wouldn't pin my hopes on Hunstman. He's just another Lib and wouldn't have been re-elected again if he stayed in Utah. He also continues to take credit for job creation when he did nothing to earn it. The jobs were coming to Utah because of the hard work from previous administrations. I will vouch for Mitt Romney, the 2002 winter olympics were pretty messed up until he got involved.
another lib? really? I guess anyone left of bachmann is liberal? And GOP/TP can not figure out why the world frowns down upon them....here's your sign. If huntsman is a liberal, john mccain must be communist....
Anyone who isn't for right wing radical government is apparently a liberal
I am rooting for Huntsman, only so these blabbering moonbats can stuff their overused lame talking point about Huntsman being the only smart, the only sane, the most wonderful candidate. Oh, too bad the GOP doesnt pick him, he is the only one who is sane. What a load of crap.
If Hunstman becomes a threat to their failed President, the moonbat blather will change on a dime , to another lame talking point "Huntsman sold out to the Tea Party" blah blah blah
We already don't like him either...He supports taking away the medi-care I paid for that you peeps in the cult ( Fox Nation ) like to call a handout,so live with it because now you are a minority...
Paul M, and all willing to listen:
Interesting analyisis, Paul, and very probably right on target, in my opinion. Hey, Paul (or anyone), what do you think about this idea? Obama drops Biden (he's been almost invisible as V.P.), and offers Huntsman the Veep slot. If that's not legal, to have one republican and one Democrat on the same ticket, Huntsman could change party affiliation, and the two best candidates, in my opinion, would win in a landslide against any combination of the rest of the Republican mediocrities.
Obama in 2012
Thanks for listening
Peace and Love
Loudmouth Karaoke Brad, (an "occupier" from Seattle)
Go Occupy a Job.
Why don't you occupy the floor so Cain can teabag you....Maybe he has a job
seems Bob is a little unhappy being a Republican.
My party the Democrats their the ones that have my back.
tisk tisk Poor Bob
I'm really surprised that Huntsman finally got some press, albeit a negative headline. As an independent, he caught my attention with the voice of reason. Do I agree with him on everything, no. Far from it. But I have to say he seems to be the candidate who would understand that he is representing a Nation, not a party. The fact that he is skilled in diplomacy might make for a chance to bring the country together, not keeping up the polarizing party rhetoric that is tearing us apart.
Looking at Newt as president, please! The worst of the Washington insiders, business as usual. As a Historian, Newt should remember, "those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it".
Huntsman isn't crazy,which gives him an edge over the other 7,but he is doing the same thing they have all done when they think they need a boost and that's kiss the tea party's ass. The other side of that is that the wacko right won't even consider him because he answered the call when our President needed him,and that is a sacrilege with this bunch of ignorant,unamerican right wing fanatic's. Sorry for the sugar coating....