I score this as a point for Obama’s political strategy as explained in this article from way back on June 26, 2009:

China Pick Sidelines GOP Moderate

President Barack Obama’s decision to appoint Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman as ambassador to China Saturday doesn’t merely remove a likely challenger – it strips the Republican party of one of its few voices urging moderation.

Obama’s pick leaves the GOP without an obvious centrist presidential candidate two years before the primary jockeying begins in full. By dispatching Huntsman to Beijing, Obama is effectively trying to determine the sort of Republican he and his top advisers would like to face in 2012.

“Brilliant,” said GOP strategist Mark McKinnon of the appointment. “Keep your friends close and your enemies in China.”

“It’s great politics,” said former Rep. Tom Davis, an outspoken moderate and shrewd political thinker. He noted the well-publicized move last month by a Michigan county Republican party to bar Huntsman from speaking because of his centrist views. “They kick Huntsman out telling him you’re not wanted, and Obama says you’re welcome here,” Davis said.

“It says in spades what is the problem with our party – we’re driving out the heretics, and they’re looking for converts.”

“There’s no doubt that they didn’t want to run against this kind of Republican,” said another top GOP strategist. “Now who are the faces of our party? Cheney, Sarah Palin, Newt [Gingrich] and Rush Limbaugh.”