With 17% of the vote, Former Governor of Utah and Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman took third place in New Hampshire Tuesday evening. While only losers and crappy soccer leagues give awards for third place; when judged against from whence he came, I’m fairly certain the Huntsman camp is seeing this as quite a victory. In his post-primary speech to his supporters in the Granite State, Huntsman opened by saying “Third Place is a Ticket to Ride… Hello South Carolina” – both sure signs that his campaign is viewing this “victory” as a step toward something bigger.
A few highlights from the speech just in case you’re not up to watching the whole thing.
“Afghanistan is not our nation’s future; and Iraq is not our nation’s future. Our nation’s future is how prepared we are to rise up as the American People and hit head on the challenges of the 21st Century.”
“This is about economics and this is about education.”
“If we don’t get our act together, we are going to see the end of the American Century by 2050; and we aren’t going to let that happen are we?”
“Everybody knows Congress needs term limits.”
“Our troops will come home to dignity and respect. Our troops will come home to jobs.”
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A few thoughts.
Certainly a few lines there I appreciate and a few taken out of context I’d probably wholeheartedly object to; but generally speaking, I do believe it was a relatively effective speech. He did offer one line that I’ve been waiting to hear one of these candidates – or any politician for that matter – articulate. ”There is another ‘Greatest Generation’ coming up.” Thank you Mr. Huntsman. Finally, someone in this field finally gets it. While I love, admire, and deeply respect the folks we proudly refer to as the “Greatest Generation”, I fail to see how we move forward as a country if we concede our “greatest” days are behind us.
I have to admit that I’m slowly warming up to this guy. There are many areas where his talking points directly conflict with my take on things. And if you follow my ramblings here at this site, you probably know that I – on more than one occasion – even refused to comment on his candidacy; save for when his daughters made an appearance. That said, he may have finally found his groove. I’m not sure that it will translate to South Carolina, but I am pleased to see a candidate emerge that can challenge Mitt Romney with the “electability” crowd.
Going a step forward, I probably also owe Jon Hunstman and his campaign a bit of an apology for so casually dismissing him/it. I’d say it is probably a stretch to assume anyone in the crowd that might apply to is still reading this site; but either way… here I am eating crow.
[...] to happen, so let’s call that the “When Hell freezes over” scenario. And 3.) Huntsman… (scratch that) Perry wins South Carolina and Gingrich finishes second. Romney outpaces Santorum, [...]
Jon’s speech is after Mitt’s speech which prominently featured his sons (dressed the same). In the pic of Jon at the podium, notice the empty space between his (beautiful) daughters. I assume this void is intentional and meant to represent his Naval Academy sons, who, you know, couldn’t make it. Country First, baby.
war eagle.
I hadn’t noticed that. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Very nice tribute, indeed.