U.S. ambassador to China Jon Huntsman resigned Monday, amid reports that he may seek the Republican nomination in 2012 and try to deprive his boss, President Barack B.O. Obama, of a second term. Jon Who? chirp...chirp...chirp...chirp...chirp...
Huntsman, a smooth former Utah governor, wrote to Obama to announce he would resign effective from April 30, after the White House noted he had told several officials he planned to leave in the first part of this year.
But White House front manMinister of Information Robert Washington Bob Gibbs sidestepped questions about Huntsman's political intentions, as anticipation builds for Obama's reelection bid and several prominent Republicans take soundings over their chances.
"I have talked to several people in the building, I have not heard anybody say that they know what the future holds for Ambassador Huntsman," Gibbs said.
Obama's 2009 pick of Huntsman to serve in the crucial Beijing post was seen as a political masterstroke, potentially taking one possible rival out of the game in the upcoming presidential election.
But Huntsman stirred 2012 buzz with a Newsweek interview late last year in which he suggested he had one political run left in him, and after buying a new home in Washington.
Huntsman, the son of a chemical billionaire, could inject his own cash into an effort to explore his prospects in the crowded field of presumed Republican contenders for the presidential nomination.
He would bring solid foreign policy and economic credentials to the table, after two years steering perhaps the most important, and often troubled, U.S. diplomatic relationship.
But many commentators believe his service as a member of Obama's government will prove a huge liability in wooing the conservative voters who dominate the Republican Party nominating process.
And some of his more centrist positions on issues like climate change and immigration may also prove problematic in the Republican primary. Other commentators say his Mormon faith could irk evangelical Christian voters who comprise a key part of the Republican party base vote.
Obama made a tongue-in-cheek reference to Huntsman's prospects when he was asked about his envoy's political intentions during a White House presser with Chinese President Hu Jintao earlier this month.
He said Huntsman had done an "outstanding job" as ambassador to China and shown enormous skill, dedication and talent.
"I'm sure he will be very successful in whatever endeavors he chooses in the future, and I'm sure that him having worked so well with me will be a great asset in any Republican primary," Obama added.
Huntsman learned Mandarin Chinese when he served on a Mormon mission in Taiwan.
He has been seen as a moderate voice in the Republican Party and was a popular governor -- he gained 70 percent of the vote in November 2008 for a second term as Utah's top official.
Huntsman served as Bush's deputy U.S. trade representative and negotiated several agreements with China.
He and his wife Mary Kaye have seven children, including two daughters adopted from China and India.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Jon Meade Huntsman,Jr. - Brief Wiki Bio
states he has proficiency in Mandarin Chinese.
#2
sounds like Obama's picking his 2012 opponent before the Republicans can. Wonder what they found in his vetting file that they'll spring on us right before the election. Huntsman who? is right
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/02/2011 8:40 Comments ||
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#3
"he gained 70 percent of the vote in November 2008 for a second term as Utah's top official." Then became ambassador to China in 2009. He'll be called a quiter. That and the fact that the Chinese visit was a disaster which somehow has to relate back to the Ambassador even if unfairly. Lastly we already have a Mormon trying to get traction in the Republican party who has a lot more name recognition. Huntsman is aiming for the VP slot and I don't think he'll get it.
#4
sounds like Obama's picking his 2012 opponent before the Republicans can.
Classic Axelrod trick. The Pubs (being the Stupid Party) fell for this trick in '08 with McCain -- recall that the NYT endorsed McCain in the primaries.
Axelrod would love to pull the same trick in '12: set up conditions by which the Stupid Party will choose the candidate Axelrod has hand-picked to be Bambi's opponent, preferably some RINO squish with a hidden, fatal weakness that can be trotted out in mid-August.
Why do the Dems hate Palin so much? If she's not very bright, not very important, not very original, and not very serious as a candidate, why the daily two-minute hate? Why do they spend so much time trying to tear her down?
Because Axelrod knows that Saracuda can bring Bambi down, that's why.
I don't know Huntsman other than what I read in the news, but the very fact that he gets good press from the MFM is enough for me to cross him off my list.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/02/2011 11:14 Comments ||
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#5
A couple big media last week breathlessly reported the president's '12 campaign as unofficially starting. An opponant, if even just a boxing dummy, is necessary and helps frame the debate. Doubly so if they do not have a firm decision on the opponent so the boxing dummy is also a lure.
#6
Crist imploded on them, so they're scrambling for another RINO to spoil Palin, Huckabee, and Romney. To be honest, I don't know a heck of a lot about Huntsman, but what I do know, isn't impressive. For one, it's Utah - you'd have to be sodomizing schoolchildren in front of the national press to lose a state-level race as a Republican in that state. For another, he's been sitting out the Tea Party period in China as an ambassador for the other party. That doesn't make you popular with base types. Lastly, he's a Party guy from a state where Party guys are seriously out of favor - his fellow ex-governor Mike Leavett was roundly booed at the convention that picked Mike Lee over the incumbent senatorial clockpuncher.
I'm really kind of surprised the press isn't pushing Huckabee harder - he's their sort of squish, all oversized, dewy-eyed sympathy and economically as liberal as they come in the Republican package. I guess it's the cultural factor: they can deal with Mormons, but enthusiastic bible-thumping Baptists better be black to get past their guard.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
02/02/2011 13:19 Comments ||
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In Washington, bigwigs can misspeak and misstep a million times without drawing attention. And then there are the seemingly harmless moments that stick to a person like super glue: Joe Wilson barking "You lie!"; Jesse Jackson mumbling into a hot mic that he wants to castrate Barack Obama; Dan Quayle trying to spell things.
Like coal crushed into diamonds by the pressure of a million eyeballs, such moments are forever.
During an exclusive dinner hosted Monday by the Alfalfa Club, Obama adviser Valerie Jarret had just such a moment. And were it not for an irritated tipster, Jarret might have walked away from the dinner unblemished.
According to our tipster, Jarrett was seated at the head table along with several other big-name politicians and a handful of high-ranking military officials. As an officer sporting several stars walked past Jarrett, she signaled for his attention and said, "I'd like another glass of wine."
Garçon!
White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee, who was seated next to Jarret, began "cracking up nervously," our tipster said, but no one pointed out to Jarrett that the man sporting a chestful of medals was not her waiter.
"The guy dutifully went up and got her a glass of wine, and then came back and gave it to her and took a seat at the table," our tipster said.
"So sorry I'm late."
"What kept you, General? Not sticky details for the bombing of Iran, I hope."
"Everyone is in tuxedos and gowns at this thing, but the military people are in full dress uniform."
Sometimes the nastiest retort is to say nothing at all.
"There was no shortage of waiters either," the tipster added.
President George W. Bush hired the best men and women he could find. President Obama surrounds himself with Valerie Jarrets. What a brilliant man he is, to be sure.
#4
Maybe Jarrett was drunk? She acted like a clueless twit but then it was probably not an act. Fits in with the rest of the administration. The officer was a gentleman and acted appropriately. I'm surprised Jarrett didn't insist on being referred to as Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs and then say she had worked hard for her position (ala Barbara Boxer).
#6
Either the woman is too stupid to tell the difference between a waiter and a decorated General _or_ she was simply throwing her weight around to impress her friends.
#9
When the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs testified before Congress about DADT and said that if those serving didn't like its repeal they could get another job - I though something similar - Is this a man in a fancy doorman's uniform?
A job? You can quit a job. Police and Fireman can quit a job with 2 weeks notice. Try that in the uniform military.
A job? How many jobs ask you to lay your life down. How many die for GM, Coca-Cola, HP, or Walmart on command.
A job? Most jobs can unionize. Though we have issues with unions, that right exits for everyone else on 'jobs'. If pols fear or lust for the power and influence of unions now, image what it would be if 400,000 armed employees unionized.
Jarret is the stupid kid that taunts the dog leashed to the tree on the street. Child like behavior to impress her entourage. One of the major failures of modern language is that while we have words to label bigotry such as racism and sexism, there exist nothing in the common tongue for those equally bigoted against those who 'serve'.
#18
I think that either two things happened here: 1) Jarret was a little tipsy and thought it was funny 2) Jarret really think that Generals are "hired help" and should be treated as such. Either one is not a good.
#19
This is a major big deal annual affair, with over 600 Seriously Important People flying in from all over the country. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor took the gavel that evening as new president of the group. If Ms Jarrett had drunk too much before dinner to think straight, she's in the wrong job. If, on the other hand, she thought she was being cleverly funny, she's definitely moving in the wrong circle, which means the same thing in her job. Interestingly, a quick google finds mentions no military people at all, only a single photo of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen without comment, which suggests no one wants to cause trouble by revealing precisely which military man she insulted.
#20
Here's your wine Valerie, now go get your shine box.
Posted by: regular joe ||
02/02/2011 17:15 Comments ||
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#21
My thought was that this was a naval officer in his white uniform, and that all she saw was a white coat flitting by her, and thought he was a waiter.
#25
Umm...Personally? I was never in a position to be afforded much respect either way; while wearing an enlisted US military uniform.
Still, I fail to see the humor.
Posted by: pan ||
02/02/2011 21:40 Comments ||
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#26
She likely thought it would be funny with her crowd. I'd be happy if they compared credentials. What has Valerie Jarrett ever done for America in her life? Trash is best with trash. She's comfortable with her Chicago cronies
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/02/2011 21:53 Comments ||
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#27
Angie, Last I heard the Navy doesn't have Generals.
OTOH I'm not an expert - don't even play one on TV - so don't know if any other service would have 'dress whites'. Or Blacks. (Is that racist?)
Drunk, Stupid, or showing off her 'power' over the military.
TheDC Exclusive The Obama administration snubbed top GOP oversight official Rep. Darrell Issa on his first major document deadline as new chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sending a short letter promising to comply in response to a major information request that was due Saturday at noon.
But Issa is hitting back Tuesday with a demand key documents be sent in two days.
The Obama snub is the first sign of how the administration will respond to demands for documents and testimony by key officials from Republicans in control of the House now that the GOP holds the power of congressional subpoena.
A Jan. 28 letter from the Department of Homeland Security promised to cooperate with Issas document request sent Jan. 14 but Issas deadline for the documents expired the next day.
I asked DHS to produce this information by Jan. 29 two weeks from the date of my second letter, Issa says in his Feb. 1 reply to the deadline snub, The department gave no indication that it would not be able to comply with the deadline.
Further, Issa charges that top DHS officials actually instructed career employees not to search for the documents he is requesting.
I was disappointed to learn that on or about Jan. 20, 2011, DHSs Office of General Counsel instructed career staff in the Privacy Office not to search for documents responsive to my request, Issa says in the Feb. 1 letter.
Issa is requesting documents from DHS about political interference with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the agency.
In July, the Associated Press reported top DHS officials told career employees to steer sensitive FOIA requests to Obamas political advisers for unusual scrutiny.
The Supreme Court may be sending a message to one of the country's most liberal appeals courts, unanimously overturning five consecutive cases out of the 9th Circuit in less than a week. Talk about a real bitch-slap.
As the nation's biggest circuit, representing most of the western United States, it should come as no surprise that the 9th Circuit has more cases heard before the Supreme Court than any other jurisdiction -- in turn resulting in more reversals. But the latest string of rulings is unusual even for the 9th, which often is at odds with conservatives on the Supreme Court. The fact that the rulings were unanimous can be seen as a signal from on high that the circuit needs to get in line.
"That's an indication this court is way out of the mainstream," said Kent Scheidegger, legal director for the California-based Criminal Justice Legal Foundation. "They're getting impatient with them. They just keep coming back with this stuff." Join the club, guys. We are all getting sick of the 9th circus.
The Supreme Court, in its rulings, signaled that the circuit must hew more closely to precedent and, in some cases, give more weight to state court rulings. Scheidegger said the high court used some "severe" language to get that message across.
In a Jan. 19 reversal, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the 9th Circuit committed a "clear error" by overturning the murder conviction in the case of a Sacramento man. The Supreme Court accused the circuit of having "failed to accord the required deference" to the state court's decision -- in other words, the 9th Circuit horned in on the state's business when it shouldn't have. Time honored tradition to tread on rights the 9th has. More at link with specifics but this made my heart all warm and happy.
#1
The Supreme Court Justice Docket is more than full, and more Circuit Justice are not doing their jobs in clearing the caseload. Much of what is presented has nothing Constitutional about it. We really need to clean out the bezzle.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The Supreme Court may be sending a message to one of the country's most liberal appeals courts, unanimously overturning five consecutive cases out of the 9th Circuit in less than a week. 
