So what am I so afraid of?
Obama's campaign manager fears Jon Huntsman the most in 2012
There is one republican presidential candidate that President Barack Obama's campaign manager fears the most in 2012...and his name is Jon Huntsman Jr.
This week for Governor Huntsman, good things are coming in threes.
Not just the fear from the Obama campaign, but also an important phone call and a weekend spent testing the waters in a key primary state.
While no republican presidential candidate yet makes Obama's team "shake in {their} shoes...," President Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, now says Governor Jon Huntsman makes him, a "wee bit queasy... I think he's really out there speaking a lot of truth about the direction of the party."
To which Kirk Jowers of the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics says, "Huntsman has positioned himself in a great place right now because he is the only presidential candidate really running in the middle right now."
Huntsman spent the weekend in Michigan which is a key G.O.P. primary state.
And Jowers - who has advised three republican presidential candidates - says Huntsman has now, "...become a top five candidate for 2012."
And finally, ABC 4 noticed this item on the governor's schedule for Tuesday, May 5th at 11:15 am.
It’s a phone call with Frank Luntz.
Jowers told us this about Dr. Luntz: "Luntz is one of the premier Republican pollsters and strategists."
And Jowers says eventually all serious Republican presidential candidates will talk to Luntz and, perhaps, employ his services.
In fact, Jowers concludes, "There’s no question that Huntsman is, perhaps, the most talked about Republican in the country right now."
Source
Huntsman Rising, Weaver Advising
Less than 24 hours after Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman's national profile received a nice -- and unexpected -- boost from the man who managed President Obama's 2008 campaign, comes words that John Weaver is providing strategic guidance to the governor.
Weaver, who refused to comment when reached by the Fix, was long known as the political consigliere to Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), riding herd over McCain's first presidential bid in 2000 and then laying the groundwork for a second bid in 2008 only to part ways with the Senator before the campaign ever really got underway. Huntsman was a prominent supporter of McCain even as his father, a billionaire businessman, threw his support behind former Gov. Mitt Romney. (Romney as well as both Huntsmans are Mormons.)
While Huntsman has made no specific statements about his interest in a 2012 presidential candidacy, his recent schedule -- he made several stops in the early primary state of Michigan over the weekend -- coupled with his high-profile stances in support of civil unions for gay couples and his progressive attitude on the environment all point toward the early stages of a 2012 bid.
Advising with a practiced hand like Weaver will only increase that chatter as will comments made recently by David Plouffe, the man who managed Obama's presidential campaign, in praise of Huntsman.
Plouffe said that Huntsman made him a "wee bit queasy" because he is "out there speaking a lot of truth about the future of the party."
Reached this afternoon by the Fix, Plouffe said his comments should not be read in the context of Huntsman as a potential 2012 candidate.
"It's just that he is one of the few GOPers out there who seem to realize you can't thrive and win elections appealing to the 25 percent of people who still think Bush was a good president," said Plouffe. "In DC, they seem to have no concern about the middle of the electorate. At least he appears to."
Source
I know that the idea of Huntsman hiring an old McCain buddy probably makes people want to barf, BUT Weaver was McCain's super BFF (like, his Rove or Axelrod) when they ran against Bush, and they had a big falling out in 2008 when it was clear McCain had abandoned his ~maverickiness~. He went on record saying that Rove was a smear artist who approved the "illegitimate child11" attacks back in 2000 and called McCain's celebrity tactic against Obama "childish" and hypocritical since McCain himself had taken advantage of his own post-Vietnam celebrity for his entire career.
So basically, he's Republican who actually has standards! Just like the governor! LET THE LOVE CONTINUE UNABATED.
There is one republican presidential candidate that President Barack Obama's campaign manager fears the most in 2012...and his name is Jon Huntsman Jr.
This week for Governor Huntsman, good things are coming in threes.
Not just the fear from the Obama campaign, but also an important phone call and a weekend spent testing the waters in a key primary state.
While no republican presidential candidate yet makes Obama's team "shake in {their} shoes...," President Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, now says Governor Jon Huntsman makes him, a "wee bit queasy... I think he's really out there speaking a lot of truth about the direction of the party."
To which Kirk Jowers of the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics says, "Huntsman has positioned himself in a great place right now because he is the only presidential candidate really running in the middle right now."
Huntsman spent the weekend in Michigan which is a key G.O.P. primary state.
And Jowers - who has advised three republican presidential candidates - says Huntsman has now, "...become a top five candidate for 2012."
And finally, ABC 4 noticed this item on the governor's schedule for Tuesday, May 5th at 11:15 am.
It’s a phone call with Frank Luntz.
Jowers told us this about Dr. Luntz: "Luntz is one of the premier Republican pollsters and strategists."
And Jowers says eventually all serious Republican presidential candidates will talk to Luntz and, perhaps, employ his services.
In fact, Jowers concludes, "There’s no question that Huntsman is, perhaps, the most talked about Republican in the country right now."
Source
Huntsman Rising, Weaver Advising
Less than 24 hours after Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman's national profile received a nice -- and unexpected -- boost from the man who managed President Obama's 2008 campaign, comes words that John Weaver is providing strategic guidance to the governor.
Weaver, who refused to comment when reached by the Fix, was long known as the political consigliere to Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), riding herd over McCain's first presidential bid in 2000 and then laying the groundwork for a second bid in 2008 only to part ways with the Senator before the campaign ever really got underway. Huntsman was a prominent supporter of McCain even as his father, a billionaire businessman, threw his support behind former Gov. Mitt Romney. (Romney as well as both Huntsmans are Mormons.)
While Huntsman has made no specific statements about his interest in a 2012 presidential candidacy, his recent schedule -- he made several stops in the early primary state of Michigan over the weekend -- coupled with his high-profile stances in support of civil unions for gay couples and his progressive attitude on the environment all point toward the early stages of a 2012 bid.
Advising with a practiced hand like Weaver will only increase that chatter as will comments made recently by David Plouffe, the man who managed Obama's presidential campaign, in praise of Huntsman.
Plouffe said that Huntsman made him a "wee bit queasy" because he is "out there speaking a lot of truth about the future of the party."
Reached this afternoon by the Fix, Plouffe said his comments should not be read in the context of Huntsman as a potential 2012 candidate.
"It's just that he is one of the few GOPers out there who seem to realize you can't thrive and win elections appealing to the 25 percent of people who still think Bush was a good president," said Plouffe. "In DC, they seem to have no concern about the middle of the electorate. At least he appears to."
Source
I know that the idea of Huntsman hiring an old McCain buddy probably makes people want to barf, BUT Weaver was McCain's super BFF (like, his Rove or Axelrod) when they ran against Bush, and they had a big falling out in 2008 when it was clear McCain had abandoned his ~maverickiness~. He went on record saying that Rove was a smear artist who approved the "illegitimate child11" attacks back in 2000 and called McCain's celebrity tactic against Obama "childish" and hypocritical since McCain himself had taken advantage of his own post-Vietnam celebrity for his entire career.
So basically, he's Republican who actually has standards! Just like the governor! LET THE LOVE CONTINUE UNABATED.