This is a pretty surprising turn of events, because not only was Huntsman mentioned by many as a potential presidential contender in 2012, but this move will have the net effect of thumbing his nose at the entire Republican party. Because if anybody is Mr Bipartisanship in the Republican party, it’s Hunstman.

Mix this in with the Judd Gregg choice (even though it failed) and Arlen Specter’s move to the Democratic party, and you’ve got the appearance of Obama consistently building bridges.

From Wash Post:

Utah Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. will be introduced today as President Obama’s choice as ambassador to China, a source familiar with the decision said last night. [...]

Several Salt Lake City media outlets reported last night that Huntsman had accepted the offer to head the U.S. mission in Beijing, and that Lt. Gov. Gary R. Herbert would replace him as governor. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Huntsman was in Washington last night, but that calls to his spokeswoman and various staffers were not returned.

Huntsman was elected in November to a second term as Utah’s governor, drawing 70 percent of the vote. He served in the George W. Bush administration as deputy U.S. trade representative from 2001 to 2004 and, for President George H.W. Bush, was ambassador to Singapore. He is an expert on China, and he speaks Mandarin Chinese fluently.

Could Huntsman use this as a pivot to run for President in 2012? Doubt it. I think he has his eyes on 2016, when Republicans will most likely be looking for a way out of the hole. Yes, I could be wrong and the Republican party may recover, but I just don’t see the mood of the electorate shifting their way on anything but fiscal policy.

More as it develops…

“You can’t just say no. You can’t just obstruct or obfuscate. Instead of just kind of grousing and complaining, it would do us all a whole lot of good if we actually started engaging directly in finding compromises and common ground and shared solutions.”
- Republican Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman in an interview with ABC News

Huntsman is also in favor of civil unions, which has ruffled quite a few feathers in the GOP. So much so that he was recently uninvited from an event in Michigan because of it.

From UPI:

Kent County, Mich., Republican Chairwoman Joanne Voorhees canceled the party fundraiser scheduled for Saturday, which was to be attended by Utah Gov. Jon Hunstman Jr., The Salt Lake Tribune reported Wednesday.

“The voters want and expect us to stand on principle and return to our roots,” Voorhees was quoted by the Grand Rapids Press as saying in an e-mail. “Unfortunately, by holding an event with Governor Huntsman, we would be doing the exact opposite.”

GOPers, do know that Huntsman represents the future of your party and folks like Voorhees will keep you in the minority for a long, long time. Because it’s not like he doesn’t have a lot of core conservative values, both fiscally and socially. He simply recognizes the gay marriage/civil unions fights for what it is: lost.

In other words, time to find some common ground.

Finally some good news for Mitt, but the night isn’t shaping up good for him so far.

There’s still California, though, so we’ll have to wait before we speculate if he’s truly over or not.