After living for six months in a  New Hampshire motel, waging a one-state campaign pretending to be a national campaign, and failing to resonate with voters in any early state,  Jon Huntsman has finally faced the truth that his campaign is over.

Many expected Huntsman to bow out in New Hampshire, after claiming that a sure victory in New Hampshire would launch a full-fledged national bid.  Finishing third, and behind Libertarian Ron Paul, and with his mother and father and his entire family beside him, it would have been the perfect time to accept the truth.  Instead, Huntsman raised his fist in the air as if in sweet victory.

We could be, and possibly should be more gracious, but The Kitchen Cabinet has wondered about the motivation of the former Utah Governor’s campaign from the start.  Huntsman quit his second term as Governor of Utah to accept President Obama ‘s call to serve as Ambassador to China.  Huntsman, who is the first to tell you that he has served the government overseas FOUR times, could have considered passing on the offer from a Democrat president and COMPLETE his term as governor.  But no.  Likely, because he saw it as the perfect launching pad for a presidential run against his apparent nemesis, Mitt Romney, he stepped away from his governorship to take the international post.

Two years into his term as Ambassador,  Huntsman then disappointed the international business community by abandoning his post as Ambassador to China to run for President of the United States.

The other unseen layer of  Huntsman’s ambitions is that his father, industrialist Jon Huntsman, Sr., has bank-rolled his son’s appointments and supported him as only a father would do.  But in  2008, Jon Huntsman SENIOR previously endorsed his friend Mitt Romney.  Then Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, JUNIOR,  refused and  instead endorsed John McCain.  There seemed to be some past business for Jon Jr. with Mitt Romney.   Utah insiders say there was some quarrel over the 2002 Winter Games in Utah.

Blood being thicker than water, Jon Huntsman SENIOR decided to support his son’s wish to run for president, and put his money behind Huntsman Jr, instead of Mitt Romney in 2012.

President Obama might have been looking down the road to 2012 when appointing Jon Huntsman, Jr. to the China ambassadorship.  The post was  cleverly extended by administration officials almost deliberately preparing Huntsman with the foreign affairs credential he needed to be considered a presidential opponent for Mitt Romney.  This put not one, but two Mormons in the  race for the presidency.

Huntsman’s father has stood by him, even though John Sr. clearly also supported Mitt Romney. After losing convincingly in New Hampshire, the writing was on the wall.  This past week, CNN cameras caught Jon Huntsman Jr. unawares in his hotel room watching New Hampshire results.  The news crew discovered Huntsman bitterly watching TV until he discovered the cameras were on.  From that time on, he was his own communications director, speaking with enthusiasm about his “win” and guaranteeing that the Huntsman campaign would continue on to South Carolina.

Tonight, six days away from the prospect of even a worse finish in South Carolina, Jon Huntsman, Jr., has withdrawn.  He also announced that he would endorse….Mitt Romney.

Perhaps his father made him do it?

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Filed under: Economy, Featured, Inside The KC, Politics, Uncategorized by Sonja Eddings Brown, Jan 15, 2012