Is Jon Huntsman Barack Obama's Secret Weapon?

Many have wondered why Jon M. Huntsman Jr., a former Obama administration official as Ambassador to China, climate-change believer, ally of Harry Reid and all-around anti-Tea Party candidate is running for the Republican presidential nomination. Were the 2012 Republican primaries your typical RINO race (not that there aren’t abundant RINOs in the current field, at least in this author’s view), it would be clear that Huntsman would be setting himself up as the establishment, “civil,” “grown up” candidate, in the mold of a more liberal Mitt Romney.

However, primaries are determined by the most ardent partisans, which for the Republican party today certainly means Tea Partiers, and conservatives and libertarians who hold similar views to those of the Tea Party. Given that it is abundantly clear that those who will determine the Republican nominee will never accept a person with Huntsman’s political views, one must wonder why he is in the race.

I believe I have found a plausible answer. Jon Huntsman Jr. is potentially the key to four more years of Barack Obama, not by running as a Republican but by running as an Independent. Allow me to explain.

By running to the left of the rest of the Republican field, Huntsman likely has no intention of competing in the Republican primary. Instead, he may use the Republican primary and his substantial personal wealth to set up for a run in the general election as an Independent — as the “reasonable” candidate in a field characterized by the mainstream media as consisting of terrorist Tea Partiers practicing radical brinksmanship and wanting to take us back to the Antebellum era, and President Obama who has proven ineffective, weak and ever-willing to compromise.

Independents who buy this line thus may look to spend their vote on a more moderate and palatable candidate. Jon Huntsman would be their man.

And if he is to win votes in any number, I would bet that this would come at the expense of the Republican nominee — especially if the nominee is not Mitt Romney. Versus Romney, Huntsman would likely struggle to pull Independent votes away. But pit him against a Perry or a Bachmann and Huntsman will stand in clear contrast, and likely be attractive to a percentage of voters.

Besides the incongruence between Huntsman and the Republican party as it is currently constituted, why do I have such a hunch? First, consider that President Obama appointed Huntsman in the first place. Is it beyond the realm of possibility that there is a quid pro quo between the two men? Despite what you may think of Barack Obama, to rise from state Senator to President requires a political shrewdness greater perhaps even than Barack Obama’s own ego.

If this is too conspiracy theory-esque for you, note that the mainstream media at least to date has consistently mentioned Hunstman’s name when speaking about Republican presidential hopefuls, despite his apparent irrelevance according to the polls. Indeed, Hunstman is the new “maverick,” a darling of the Left not only because he holds many views consistent with them, but perhaps because the Left realizes that if they can generate interest in him, keeping Huntsman in the electorate’s subconscious even as he lags far behind his current competitors, it may help their man Barack Obama garner enough votes to eek out a victory in a three-way general election.

Lastly, note that Huntsman has yet to publicly attack Barack Obama’s policies in any meaningful way. His key line during the recent Iowa Fox News debate was as follows: “Barack Obama won in 2008 on hope, I’m going to win in 2012 on solutions.” Perhaps the only swipe he has ever taken at Obama comes in tonight’s interview with Piers Morgan, in which Huntsman reportedly says (in attacking Mitt Romney mind you): “Creating Obamacare before Obama, the most despised and reviled health care legislation in the history of this country, doesn’t cut it, and I think that will be terribly problematic.”

However, you will note that while this may amount to a backhanded slap at President Obama, Huntsman never actually criticizes the legislation himself. He merely states that others hate a piece of legislation that originated with one of his Republican opponents. Is this not a more dramatic way of saying just what Barack Obama has said, that the legislation is “unpopular” with certain folks? I find it hard to imagine that anyone, even someone who was part of the President’s administration, while running under the opposition party’s mantle could ever let the President’s policies and record slide. But I have not seen one iota of evidence that Huntsman will criticize him. It is almost as if Huntsman is not running against Barack Obama but the Republican party itself.

In isolation, none of Huntsman’s actions indicate a grand bargain with Barack Obama. But when taken as a whole, it becomes abundantly clear that an afterthought to Republicans could in fact spell defeat in November 2012. While I hope such a theory is wrong, however remote the possibility of this premeditated effort against Republicans, such a threat must be taken seriously, lest we end up with four more years of Barack Obama.