Horse-Race Diplomacy?

Fallows rolls his eyes at the reported rumors that Jon Huntsman, Obama's ambassador to China, will run against his boss in 2012. But JimĀ adds some speculation of his own in a follow-up post:

[A] friend in Beijing writes to say that there may be a hidden logic or silver lining to the rumor -- on Huntsman's side, if not on Newsweek's. This friend is neither American nor Chinese, but he knows Huntsman, and he deals every day with Chinese officialdom. In the haiku eloquence of a tweet he writes:

>>That interview is going to raise JH's effectiveness as ambassador exponentially with the Chinese. The way they like to hedge....<<

Ie, there is nothing that will get the attention of the Zhongnanhai leadership like the idea that the mere ambassador they are humoring today might be back another day as a mighty American President.

For a good primer on how Huntsman could be the future of a sane GOP, see Zvika Krieger's profile of the former Utah governor.

2006-2011 archives for The Daily Dish, featuring Andrew Sullivan