We noted earlier today in First Thoughts, Jon Huntsman’s thinly veiled attack on Mitt Romney’s record as governor of Massachusetts.

After touting that Utah when he was governor was, what he claimed No. 1 in job creation, he added, “That compared and contrasted to certain states like, say, Massachusetts that I'll just pull out randomly -- not first but 47th.”

It obviously wasn’t so random, and this afternoon, his campaign ripped off the veil posting on its Web site (and Tweeted out) some opposition research on Romney with the headline, “Mitt Romney Did Not Lead a ‘Dramatic’ Turnaround of His State’s Economy.”

We've noted before that Huntsman's path is to beat Romney in New Hampshire, where Romney leads big and Huntsman barely registers.

*** UPDATE *** The Huntsman camp also put up this post: "Jon Huntsman Created More Jobs in Utah Than Romney Created in Massachusetts."

While visiting a hardware store in Miami, Jon Huntsman explained his "early state strategy," which includes New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida.

"I would liken it to running for governor in three states simultaneously," Huntsman said. "Obviously Florida, I think will be where the Republican nomination is finally decided. So this will be a key state for us."

Today was his second trip to the Sunshine State this year, and Huntsman is also setting up is campaign headquarters in Orlando, where his wife Mary Kaye was born. Huntsman said when he looked at his options, he knew that his headquarters "should be close to or in a very important early primary state."

"I thought it was time to do something good for my wife," Huntsman joked.

Huntsman also answered questions about his immigration plan which includes "a combination of fencing and technology and also having people on the border" with Mexico.

"I would very much look forward to working with our four border governors in making sure that we have verified from them the fact that we have secured the border," Huntsman said.

And as NBC Producer Erika Angulo reported, Huntsman also responded to questions about President Obama's plan to withdraw 30,000 troops from Afghanistan over the next year.

"The thought that we can draw down totally I think is inconceivable and it's impractical, but leaving behind a force of whatever size, certainly well below what we have today and I think well below what the president has advocated over the next year... I think it's what we want ultimately, but we're not there yet. And I don't believe we're going to be there a year from now."

Video edited by Matt Loffman

With the Statue of Liberty in the background, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman officially announced his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. 

Huntsman -- who most recently served as President Obama's ambassador to China -- used his announcement to introduce himself to the voters as a former governor, businessman, husband, and father.

But Huntsman's announcement was largely about the fiscal challenges facing the country. "Today, Americans are experiencing -- through no fault of their own -- something that is totally alien to them: a sense that the deck is stacked against them by forces totally beyond their control," he said. "No matter how hard they work, save and plan, the opportunities aren't there for them that were present for previous generations.

He cited his record as governor of Utah, where "we cut taxes, we flattened rates, we balanced our budget" to support his plan to create jobs.

"When the economic crisis hit, we were prepared," Huntsman said.  "By many accounts, we became the best state in America for business. We also were named the best-managed state in America."

Huntsman tied his foreign-policy strategy, which includes the "end of these conflicts," to fixing the financial situation in the United States.

"It's not that we wish to disengage from the world," he said. "We believe the best long-term national security strategy is rebuilding our core here at home."

Huntsman also said he would conduct his campaign "on the high road." He said there will be "disagreements" with the other candidates, but that he respects all the Republican candidates and his former boss.

"I respect the president," Huntsman said. "He and I have a difference of opinion on how to help the country we both love. But the question each of us wants the voters to answer is who will be the better president; not who's the better American."

Jon Huntsman announced at a foreign-policy forum with Henry Kissinger in New York that he will announce his intention to run for president one week from today.

"Is anybody listening to this broadcast?" Huntsman joked, before going on to say, "Well, since we're in select company, and there aren't a lot of people listening in -- I intend to announce that I will be a candidate for the presidency a week from today."

He added, "My family looks shocked and surprised because they are; I hadn't told them yet."

When former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) announces for president with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop next week, he won't be the first to do so.

Watchers of the 1996 presidential campaign will remember that former California Gov. Pete Wilson also did so, as NBC's Chuck Todd reminds. And, as NBC's Andrea Mitchell points out, the site was also used as Ronald Reagan's kickoff in 1980, following his official announcement in 1979. (Here's video of Reagan's speech.)

On Aug. 6, 1995, the Washington Post's Paul Taylor and David Broder wrote the following under the headline, "Wilson Chooses Lady Liberty As Symbol for Campaign."

"Let the smart alecks croak that California Gov. Pete Wilson (R) is trying to ride an anti-immigration wave to the White House. He's just picked up the crown jewel of pro-immigration endorsements: the Statue of Liberty. Miss Liberty's picture now appears on the official Wilson campaign stationery, with the words 'Pete Wilson President' superimposed over her left shoulder. She's also expected to serve as the backdrop when Wilson launches his campaign in New York shortly before Labor Day."

The statue, with its references to the "tired" and "poor" and "huddled masses yearning to breathe free" -- courtesy of poet Emma Lazurus -- has taken on different meanings for different people.

Wilson, at the time, was embroiled in a controversy over immigration having just pushed through the Prop 187 ballot initiative a year earlier that "cuts off welfare and education services to illegal immigrants," per the Washington Post.

Some found the site as Wilson's choice for an announcement ironic because of the statue's message, but Wilson's campaign manager told the Washington Post then of Lady Liberty: "She symbolizes the fact that there is a right way and a wrong way to do things in America. The right way is to come with nothing but the clothes on your back, apply legally and accomplish great things. The wrong way is to come illegally."

Today, she has become a hero for the Tea Party, with "liberty" becoming a catch phrase and foam green-pointed head gear at Tea Party rallies. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) made a stop at the statue during her family bus tour through the Northeast last week.

Huntsman, however, is no hero of the Tea Party. His campaign hearkened back to Reagan.

Spokesman Tim Miller, in a Tweet today cited this Reagan quote from when he appeared with the statue in the background: "Let us pledge to each other with this Great Lady looking on, that we can and so help us God we will make America great again."

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) will announce a week from today at Liberty State Park in New Jersey that he's running for president, a source tells First Read.

At an event today in New York with Henry Kissinger, Huntsman is expected to say that he will back in the area in a week to make a big announcement.

"Lady Liberty provides a great backdrop for an announcement speech," the source said.

New Jersey is the latest unorthodox move by the Huntsman campaign. They also will headquarter a campaign out of Orlando, FL. Huntsman also did not participate in last night's debate in New Hampshire, even though the Granite State will be key to a Huntsman campaign.

President Obama has already -- tongue in cheek -- given potential GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman his endorsement. Huntsman, a former Utah governor, served as Obama's ambassador to China.

And now comes news that former Democratic President Jimmy Carter finds him a "very attractive" candidate.

The Hill reports:

Carter, the one-term president to whom conservatives sometimes gleefully compare Obama, told CNN that Jon Huntsman, the former Republican governor of Utah who resigned last Saturday as Obama's top diplomat in China, might make for Obama's best GOP challenger.

Carter said that Huntsman is "very attractive to me personally," but also said that his "intention is to vote for the Democratic candidate."

This will be Huntsman's challenge if he runs for president: being portrayed as the left-most candidate in an increasingly right-leaning Republican Party.

FILE - President Obama stands with Jon Huntsman at a town hall style event with Chinese youths at the Museum of Science and Technology in Shanghai in 2009. (AP)

This isn't the first time Jon Huntsman's work for the Obama administration has been an issue. And it won't the last, especially if Huntsman -- who is leaving his post as U.S. ambassador to China -- ends up running for the GOP presidential nomination.

The Daily Caller reports:

“You are a remarkable leader,” Huntsman wrote to Obama in an Aug. 16, 2009 note, underlining the word “remarkable,” “and it has been a great honor getting to know you.”

The letter thanks Obama for “the graciousness and kindness you have shown me and my family – particularly your confidence in my ability to represent you in China.” Huntsman said he was “leaving behind a state we love – but anticipating an extraordinary experience in Beijing.”

The response from Huntsman's camp:

Reached for comment about the letters, a political strategist who supports Huntsman tried to pin their release on the Obama White House.

“Need further proof that the White House fears Jon Huntsman? I think not,” the source said.

The person who sent the letters to TheDC did so on the condition their identity not be disclosed.

The Washington Post writes about what could be one of the most interesting political stories of 2011: Mitt Romney vs. Jon Huntsman. In fact, both Republicans could stake their early presidential candidacies on how they fare in New Hampshire.

A showdown between Huntsman, 50, and Romney, 63, would likely be the most bitter of the coming election. The respective former governors of Utah and Massachusetts have vast fortunes, silver tongues and great hair. They are also distant cousins, descended from a Mormon apostle who played a key role in the faith's founding. The two men enjoyed the early support of powerful and devout fathers and performed the church's missionary work - Romney in France during the Vietnam War and Huntsman in Taiwan. For years, the clans remained close, until the two scions sought to lead the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, a coveted post that promised to boost political prospects. The Games went to Romney, and the family bonds froze over when Huntsman endorsed Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) over Romney in the 2008 presidential contest.

And on the issue of their Mormon faith, as we've heard before, Romney is more BYU (where he got his undergrad degree) while Huntsman is more University of Utah (which he attended).

Polls demonstrate that Mormons overwhelmingly prefer Romney, signaling a schism that some Huntsman supporters welcome. Advocates for the ambassador's presidential bid, speaking carefully on background, argue that there is a meaningful distinction in how Romney and Huntsman practice their faith.

Advocates for Huntsman describe him as nowhere near as devout or defined by his church affiliation. Huntsman is a cultural Mormon, they explain, much in the way people can be culturally Jewish but not keep kosher, or culturally Catholic but not attend daily Mass.

U.S. Amb. to China Jon Huntsman (left) talking with President Obama.

At the bilateral news conference with China's President Hu, President Obama was asked about his China ambassador Jon Huntsman, a former Republican governor of Utah, possibly running for president in 2012.

Obama lauded Huntsman, who was seated in the front row, saying he has "done an outstanding job" as ambassador. He cited his Mandarin fluency and that his being a Republican shows both of their beliefs that "partisanship ends at the water's edge."

Obama deadpanned: "I couldn't be happier with the Ambassador's service, and I'm sure he will be very successful in whatever endeavors he chooses in the future."

And then he delivered this laugh line: "And I'm sure that him having worked so well for me will be a great asset in any Republican primary."

Newsweek dubbed Huntsman "The Manchurian Candidate," and 2008 Obama campaign manager David Plouffe called him the one Republican candidate who makes him "a wee bit queasy." Newsweek noted that Huntsman may be leaving the door open to a 2012 run with political advisers stateside laying the seeds for a run if he decides on a White House bid.

Per NBC's Catherine Chomiak, here's the question and Obama's full answer:

AP's Ben Feller asked about human rights and then added:

FELLER: And, if I may, on an unrelated topic, I'd like to know what you make of the speculation that the gentleman in front of me, Ambassador Huntsman, might run against you in 2012. ...

OBAMA: Well, uh, first of all let me just say, I think Ambassador Huntsman has done an outstanding job as ambassador for the United States to China. He is a Mandarin speaker. He has brought enormous skill, dedication and talent to the job and you know the fact that he comes from a different party I think is a strength, not a weakness because it indicates the degree to which both he and I believe that partisanship ends at the waters edge and that we work together to advocate on behalf of our country.

So, I couldn't be happier with the Ambassador's service and I'm sure he will be very successful in whatever endeavors he chooses in the future.

And I'm sure that him having worked so well for me will be a great asset in any Republican primary.