Jon Huntsman vows to stay in race after finishing third in New Hampshire primary

[alp227]

Jon Huntsman Jr.’s third-place finish in New Hampshire leaves the former Utah governor with a tenuous perch among the presidential contenders as they head to South Carolina for the Jan. 21 primary there.

It was an unremarkable showing for a Republican who had poured all his presidential hopes into New Hampshire, but Huntsman vowed to stay in the race.

“I think we’re in the hunt,” he told his supporters Tuesday night. “I’d say third place is the ticket to ride. Hello, South Carolina!”

Supporters who packed into the Black Brimmer, a cavernous bar in Manchester, were heartened by the results, noting that the candidate had been in the low single digits in the polls several weeks ago.

full: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/jon-huntsman-vows-to-stay-in-race-after-finishing-third-in-new-hampshire-primary/2012/01/10/gIQAprKbpP_story.html

[koolkake]

1. huntsman

Huntsman is the only one with some sort of a brain on the GOP lineup, for that I must at least respect him

[wellst0nev0ter]

5. And That's Why He's Nah Gah Win (n/t)

[MADem]

2. He'll be in for a while yet, and either he'll catch fire after a Romney screw-up, or he'll lay

groundwork for 2016. He's not wasting his time, not at all. He has a long-term plan, I suspect.

[sofa king]

3. 2016 makes sense to me.

As far as I can see it, Huntsman seems to have no chance on his own, and the VP slot isn't going to go to him either:

* Romney won't have him because Romney requires a running mate of a different superstition;

* Paul won't have him because he's too willing to work within the system, rather than changing it;

* Gingrich won't have him because he's too willing to work within the system, rather than corrupting it;

* Santorum won't have him because he's too moderate for the snake-handlers, and of the wrong superstition;

* Rick Perry is unaware... just too unaware to bother considering.

So yeah, running for 2016 seems to me to be the only realistic objective he can have. If he's lucky, he'll be able to pad his credibility and name recognition without inviting the microscopic press scrutiny which has torpedoed virtually all of the other candidates.

Otherwise, his efforts are probably worse than useless; by acting as the lone sane and moderate Republican, he's probably generating more overall support for President Obama than anyone else.

[DCBob]

4. Hope he stays in it for the long haul..

He makes the others look even worse.

[mainer]

6. He made a decent showing; now his dad may throw in some money

Huntsman's been operating on a shoestring, with no help from his rich family. Gossip is that Huntsman senior may now see that his son actually has a chance, and will contribute lucre to his son's campaign.