re: #268 Surabaya Stew

And also smart for Obama, since appointing Hustsman removes him from any 2012 competition. Plus it removes the GOP of a rare non-lunatic, so it makes the Dems seem better by default.

Well, that too, but I have a sense that Huntsman looked at the GOP during the 2008 campaign, saw the craziness that was starting to take over, and decided that getting out of the way for a few years was a good idea. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ran in 2016, to be honest.

Sure, it was a shrewd move by Obama, since the popular, non-loony GOP governor from Utah is now overseas doing diplomatic work for the US, but it’s not like Huntsman loses much by all this. He can claim service to his country, he can put his language skills to good use, he gets foreign policy cred with respect to China, which is *huge*, and he stays out of the teabagger fray.

It’s win-win all around for both Huntsman and Obama.