President Obama reached across the political divide Saturday and named Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a potential Republican presidential contender in 2012, to the sensitive diplomatic post of U.S. ambassador to China.
Fluent in Mandarin Chinese from his days as a Mormon missionary in Taiwan, the 49-year-old Huntsman is a popular two-term governor who served in both Bush administrations and was national co-chairman of Arizona Sen. John McCain’s campaign against Obama last year. Huntsman has made a name for himself advocating a moderate agenda in one of the most conservative U.S. states.
With Huntsman by his side, Obama said in brief remarks in the White House Diplomatic Room that he made the appointment “mindful of its extraordinary significance.”
“Given the breadth of issues at stake in our relationship with China, this ambassadorship is as important as any in the world because the United States will best be able to deal effectively with global challenges in the 21st century by working in concert with China,” Obama said.
Huntsman made headlines recently for encouraging the Republican Party to swing in a more moderate direction if it wanted to bounce back from the 2008 elections, angering some conservatives.
Obama’s 2008 campaign manager, David Plouffe, said Huntsman is a Republican who “seems to understand the party has to adjust — not stubbornly believe that everything is OK and it is the country that has to change.”
Huntsman’s positions on the environment and other issues have led some to consider him a potential contender for president in 2012.
He signed an initiative that would set up a regional cap-and-trade effort to reduce global warming. In a 2006 speech at Shanghai Normal University, Huntsman spoke of the need for China and the U.S. to work together on environmental issues.
“The United States and China must be good examples and stewards of the Earth. We must match economic progress with environmental stewardship. The effects of industrialization are felt worldwide,” Huntsman said then.
Throughout his tenure as governor, Huntsman’s background as a diplomat has been evident. He preferred to win over opponents in private meetings rather than using his post to give rousing speeches.
One of his most significant achievements was loosening the state’s restrictive liquor laws over the objections of many in heavily Mormon Utah in an effort to make the state more appealing for visitors. It was a feat many here did not think would be possible in Huntsman’s lifetime.
Huntsman has drawn the most attention for stating he favors civil unions for gay couples even though he backed a state constitutional amendment passed in 2004 that prohibited same-sex marriage.
Huntsman’s comments on civil unions drew the ire of conservatives in Utah and elsewhere.
Officials in Michigan last month canceled a Republican county fundraiser where Huntsman was to speak; they said he had abandoned important party principles.
Huntsman’s career began as a staff assistant in the Ronald Reagan administration and he also served as ambassador to Singapore under President George H.W. Bush and as a deputy U.S. trade representative and U.S. trade ambassador under President George W. Bush.
Utah’s only Democratic member of Congress, Rep. Jim Matheson, said he was pleased with the appointment. “It’s a great bipartisan appointment by the president,” he said.
Before becoming governor in 2005, Huntsman made millions serving as chairman and chief executive of his family chemical company. He also has an adopted daughter from China.
If confirmed by the Senate, Huntsman will succeed Clark Randt as U.S. ambassador to China.
Randt, a classmate of former President George W. Bush at Yale University, served as Washington’s top envoy to Beijing from July 2001 until January, making him the longest-serving U.S. ambassador to China since the two nations established diplomatic ties.
Utah Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert would become governor until a special election in 2010.
*yawn*
Oba-mao shuttles another rino into a post where he can dictate to him.
Another rino turns his back on the USA for perceived self-interest.
What a bunch of smoke and mirrors.
Conservative Extremism has been defeated. The sooner it is completely dead the better.
I say good riddance. Weed out the weaklings, roll up our sleeves, and focus on 2010 FIRST. Clean up congress first. Then move on to 2012. By then – so much damage will be done. SO many promises will have been broken. So many people will see how they’ve been duped, used and abused.
Hate: You’re advocating totalitarianism and oppression of all dissent. Obviously you’re oblivious to history and the humanitarian abuses that inevitably occur. I suppose you see yourself as one of the abusERS and not the abusEES? Well, actually you’re just one of the useful idiots (you really should see Yuri Bezmenov from 25 years ago talk about what you’ve suckered for today). They shoot you useful idiots first because you’re the most easily disillusioned in the “glorious cause”. And Mr. Bezmenov carefully points out that the UIs won’t believe they’re expendable until they’re lined up against a wall to be shot. That sounds like you.
I’m not a sucker. I truly believe in rooting out and exposing hate mongers and bigots. The table has been turned. People like yourself are now the endangered species. Your ranks are shrinking every day. I appreciate your cooperation in this undertaking.
stophate,
What?
Did you see the almost one million people rallying on tax day?
And just wait until July 4th.
You can call us anything you like; again your name calling does your side no good.
We are anything but “shrinking”. But I will suggest that we are “falling back and regrouping”. I’m sure you’ve heard THAT term, you know since you CLAIM to be an Iraq War Vet.
Just remember the reason why you “fall back and regroup”.
Conservatives will be back, and hopefully more conservative than ever, especially if that means getting back to following the Constitution.
Why are you even bothering with the people here at Obamabi? Is it to rub their faces in the fact that your side won in November? We all accept this (except for that small eligibility problem Obama has, and stophate I can debate you on that issue also if you’d like), but as it states in the Constitution WE still have the RIGHT to Peaceably Assemble.
Obama wants 80 votes for his Supreme Court nominee. I am hopeful that he doesn’t get ANY Republican support for his nominee.
He doesn’t need it, and Obama needs to stand on his own two feet. Bipartisanship my foot. With what Obama has and wants to implement, he doesn’t deserve the support of Conservatives.
I could go on and on about Obama’s policies stophate, but like your response to my other post, you’ll just sit there with your mouth hanging open with nothing to reply back.
Hate: considering your cultmaster helped incite genocide slaughtering innocent Kenyan Christians, and his racism against white people, it’s obvious YOU are protecting the bigot, and YOU are the bigot yourself.
Consider also that Republicans freed the slaves, gave women the vote, and forwarded civil rights more than the Democrats (case in point Eisenhower) and you will see that you are in the party of bigotry bigotry bigotry, the party that wanted to keep slavery, that started the KKK.
Lincoln and MLK were Republicans.
So true, annelynn…
Christian conservatives ALWAYS win, for we unite ourselves with God, and wish to perform His will.
God is the only power. Opposing Him only leads to defeat.
Stop Hate is getting way to much attention.His opinions belong on stopthesmears.com.He is a distracter not a debater.
Yes, stoophate is a master debator…you can tell by the dribble he/she/it posts here!
stand up: Hate is a troll, and he may be several people posting to keep us focused on to him. Instead, if fellow Oculties are reading our responses, it’s an opportunity to ejumificate them as to the errors of their ways.
They have a false altruism, that needs to be exposed.
For example, HATE, did you notice the Demonrats keep voting against actual measures (outside their crony kickback with GE-gate/MSNBC) for solar and hydrogen cells? See, they can’t TAX non-CO2 producing energy, and CO2 is now exposed as a total fraud by none other than the EPA. Yet they will persist in ways to tax us over this fraud, and run people into the ground with higher energy costs ($1600 per family minimum).
satan and his children work hard towards their goals. I suppose they are called liberals or progressives or democrats, but in reality these are satan’s children; deceived or otherwise.
Point One: Lincoln and MLK may have been Republicans, but the Republican Party today is not what it used to be. Will you vote for policy or for a label?
Point Two: “Christian conservatives ALWAYS win, for we unite ourselves with God, and wish to perform His will.” Why don’t you go start another holy war then? Because obviously you SO approve of the Muslim jihad. Please save statements like that for your own private rants.
Point Three: Scream “America is conservative” all you like. If you don’t recognize that their are substantial flaws within the Republican party, and actually do something about it, the same thing will happen in 2010 as happened in 2006 and 2008. We don’t like bigoted statements that say you can’t be an atheist, support gay marriage, etc. People don’t care whether gays can marry in SF, let ’em, worry about bigger things like educating our children and creating jobs. You may not like it, but the Democratic Party has an edge in that it is seen as the party of progress. Get with it.
I don’t care to get into a smear fight over which party is better, in fact, I am quite starting to like Gov. Jon Huntsman, despite being a registered Democrat. He may be from Utah, but I appreciate what he is doing. I hope what he says is genuine, of course, and not just talk.
Whooooooooah. Freedom of speech whizzed off a democrat. IMAGINE THAT!
“You may not like it, but the Democratic Party has an edge in that it is seen as the party of progress. Get with it.
If that WERE the truth – I would absolutely love it. However, lately neither democrats OR republicans can claim that they’re seen as the party of progress since the republican party has gone sissy, and the democratic party has gone straight to shit. No one even knows what they stand for anymore. Try being a conservative looking at a ballot that says John McCain and Barack Obama. Don’t misunderstand me, now. I think very highly of Senator McCain, but he’s certainly not my ideal candidate. Palin on the other hand was a freaking breath of fresh air in the dense fog of politics.
“People don’t care whether gays can marry in SF”
Yeah, I’m pretty sure they do. Since… well, you know… it was voted on and all. Shot down like a champ.
“I hope what he says is genuine, of course, and not just talk.”
Let us know how “hope” works out for you. Hope doesn’t get you very far. Obama ran on it and it seems like it lost it’s juice after two years of campaigning. Get with it.
Tired of politics? Doesn’t sound like it to me…bad news just came in across the wire, ToP…
Turns out the republican party and the democrat party are one in the same!
Get with it, indeed.
Wow, you people really are just batshit crazy. “GOD WILL DELIVER US TO” yata yata yata, shut the fuck up.
There is no such thing as god. There isn’t an old man with a fuzzy white beard sitting on a cloud, throwing lightning bolts at disbelievers. Jesus Christ’s legend was a reincarnation of about a half dozen other savior myths that had been around in the Middle East for thousands of years. Always the same bullshit. Born of a virgin. Turns water to wine. Walks on water. Eventually tortured and killed by people he came to save.
Your entire religion is based on a recycled myth. Grow up.