Jason Grill on Jon Huntsman’s Withdrawal

Jon Huntsman had a good chance to beat President Obama in 2012, but the only problem was he was too mainstream and bipartisan to be nominated by the Republican party this cycle.

As a Democrat, I admired and respected his resume, intelligence, and ability to put pandering to his party’s base aside. A lot has changed in a week.

Why would a candidate whose campaign has ran more anti-Romney videos on their website than any other campaign suddenly endorse Mitt Romney?

Why would a candidate who has had deep family issues and a rivalry with the Romney’s now come to Mitt’s side?

One word…Ambition. There is no doubt Huntsman is coming to Romney’s side now for a potential secretary of state appointment should Romney take over the presidency.

However, if Romney is nominated and loses, Huntsman could argue he just finished a trial run and purchased his ticket for 2016 without really hurting himself. Huntsman most likely believes that rallying around the party’s presumed nominee will endear him to his party’s establishment.

The only problem is Huntman’s complete 180 on Mitt Romney will hurt the two things he had going for him in this race and beyond: trust and authenticity. He has caved and put politics over country. Ironic…isn’t it?

(Cross-posted, with permission of the author, from Politico’s Arena)