President Obama named Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. (R) as his ambassador to China, said Andrew Sullivan in The Atlantic, which “can only be called a genius move” by Obama, and a “terrible blow to the GOP.” A “pro-civil union Mormon who gets the problem of climate change,” Huntsman is “the un-Cheney.” So, in one stroke, Obama has "co-opted” one of the GOP’s rising moderates and rid himself of a potential political rival.
I’m not sure that “Obama co-opted Huntsman,” said Dennis Sanders in The Moderate Voice. It’s just as likely that Huntsman saw no viable path to national office as a Republican, with the “Limbaugh wing of the party” calling the shots. Huntsman probably decided that “dealing with the Chinese is far easier than dealing with Sean Hannity.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
US election: who the billionaires are backingThe Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
-
US election: where things stand with one week to goThe Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
-
Is Trump okay?Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
-
The life and times of Kamala HarrisThe Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockadeSpeed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attemptSpeed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
