Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Jon Huntsman is the Republican who could beat Obama

Ambassador Huntsman's car in China

In the general election, Huntsman has the best shot of beating Obama because he:

  • is moderate politically;
  • has executive experience as a successful and popular governor (of Utah); 
  • knows foreign policy (was ambassador to China and Singapore-- he speaks Mandarin and Taiwanese from his time as a Mormon missionary);
  • can work with Democrats, as he worked as Obama's ambassador to China; and 
  • has business experience, running his family's successful chemical conglomerate.
However, he can't run against Obama without first winning the Republican primary season.  This will be incredibly difficult, as primary voters are very conservative.  His challenges during the primaries include:
  • he is a Mormon (a big negative to Southern Christians and Catholics),
  • he is in favor of gay rights,
  • he believes in climate change, and
  • he worked for Obama.

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