Jon Huntsman is....Newt Gingrich

Only in the sense that his campaign is over before it has begun.

Yesterday we pointed out his support of a cap & trade economic model, along with a seeming indifference towards health insurance mandates.  Bad enough.  But it gets worse - first, an endorsement from Harry Reid, and now this gem from the former Chairman of the Utah Democratic Party

“The Jon Huntsman I know supported Barack Obama and President Obama’s recovery act, but said it should have been larger,” said Wayne Holland, chairman of the Utah Democratic Party, on a recent conference call with reporters.

The Jon Huntsman I know worked with Democrats to pass the cap-and-trade program and said at the time it was the only alternative to a carbon tax. The Jon Huntsman I know signed into law a health insure exchange and proposed an individual mandate for Utah. It now appears that has all changed.”

Maybe Huntsman should just run a primary challenge to Barack Obama instead.

Incidentally, are Holland and Reid intentionally trying to discredit Huntsman because they buy into the somewhat insane media spin that this is the man to beat in 2012, despite the fact he has no natural constituency whatsoever?  Or are they smarter than they appear, and are trying to push this ambitious waif (sound familiar?) into prominence, knowing he might be the only Republican that Obama can possibly defeat?

We'll never know, because Huntsman has as much of a chance as Newt Gingrich does.  Newt bashed Paul Ryan, the last honest man, while Jon Huntsman bashed...all of America, in a way that would make any good liberal glow with pride:

On the campaign trail, Huntsman often dwells on how America is viewed from abroad. “From 10,000 miles away, folks, let me just tell you that we lack humanity, we lack civility, we lack basic respect for which this country should be known,” Huntsman told one crowd.

Good luck, Jon.  Maybe Obama will open up another ambassadorship for you...