Jon Huntsman likes to call himself the “margin-of-error candidate.” It is not an accidental phrase. In the seven weeks since the former Utah governor and U.S. ambassador to China returned from Beijing with visions of filling the gaping void in the GOP field, Team Huntsman has seemed interested in nothing so much as humanizing the candidate, portraying him as modest and relatable. They want you to know that this is a guy who loves motocross, who dropped out of high school to play keyboard in a prog-rock band called Wizard, who drags friends and reporters to his favorite taco carts for lunch
While some Republican hopefuls have failed or are still trying to coax their loved ones onto the campaign bus, Huntsman's wife and their seven children are more than ready for a yearlong road trip that could begin as soon as June. "I would be extremely excited" if he ran, his daughter Liddy, 23, says. "He'd be the ultimate fresh face." ("Thanks, chief," he tells her in his usual soothing sotto voce style.)
Huntsman began his speech 30 minutes late in a hot warehouse. He attacked President Barack Obama, threatened the National Labor Relations Board, criticized China's one-child policy, and defended fracking in the production of natural gas.
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