Quote du jour

Had Jon Huntsman ever amounted to any threat to Obama, he would have gotten the same treatment (as Chris Christie), too. A figure earns the title as "the media's favorite Republican" by 1) validating liberal Democrat arguments and 2) not presenting any real threat to their agenda.

-Jim Geraghty

"Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye"

No. Seriously. We really hardly knew you! In case you haven't heard, the little known Jon Huntsman is dropping out of the Republican primaries. A man who generated so little excitement that members of his of own campaign sometimes misspelled his name, Huntsman leaves the race with a whimper and not a bang.

As Obama's ambassador to China, he gained foreign policy experience and the hint, that maybe his policies were closer to Obama's than one might hope for in a Republican candidate for the Presidency.

He speaks Chinese, and seems more than a little proud of the fact, dropping Chinese phrases into speeches or conversations, like some obscure Firefly reference, but lacking its charm.
He comes across as perhaps being educated, but not necessarily wise.

His campaign never really caught fire. His leaving the race will remove a distraction from the business of selecting our eventual nominee.

It is rumored that he will endorse Romney. Look for that endorsement to garner just as much excitement as the rest of his candidacy.

H/T Memeorandum
Cross posted at Say Anything

Christine Todd Whitman to Jon Huntsman: Run Third Party

Smoke break?

Question: "What is the word most closely associated with the Jon Huntsman campaign?"

Answer: "Who?"

Yes. Jon Huntsman, the candidate you know virtually nothing about (and many of you don't care to), whose name his own campaign tends to misspell, is being urged by Christine Todd Whitman to run third party. Your next question to that may well be "who is she?".

Christine Todd Whitman was the RINO head of the EPA under former President George W. Bush. From her wikipedia bio:

In 1993, Whitman helped to found the Committee for Responsible Government (CRG), a political advocacy group espousing moderate positions in the Republican Party. (In 1997, the CRG softened its pro-choice stance and renamed itself the Republican Leadership Council.)...During the 2008 presidential election, Whitman was touted by the media as a candidate for a Cabinet position under both Barack Obama and John McCain

Wow. Google "squishy Republican" and see if her name isn't at the top of the list. But, back to her "sage" advice to Mr. Huntsman. Could someone please tell me what the primary process is for? We have squishy RINOs telling Huntsman when (and not if) he loses to "go third party". We have Ron Paul coyly not saying whether or not he is considering a third party run when (not if) he loses in the primaries. I guess my question is, if these people want to run as Republicans, at what point do they accept the fact that a majority of Republicans have chosen someone else? I'm sure the Obama campaign would be delighted if every one of the failed candidates on the Right were to continue to campaign up until November. Every attack ad run after the primaries is one less he has to run. Every vote cast for the losers of the primaries (Yes, I said losers, and I meant it.) is one less to give the standard bearer of the Republican Party, who has the strongest if not only chance to defeat Obama.

If there's a retirement home for RINOs, let's put Christine there. Jon can come to visit her on the weekends. He's going to have a lot of time on his hands to do things like that really soon.

H/T Memeorandum

Cross posted at LCR.

The Poetry Corner - Jon Huntsman Edition

Jon Huntsman was a candidate,
His campaign was quite brisk.
Four million dollars later and
he's just an "asterisk".

-Proof, Inspired by R.S. McCain