Huntsman's 'Uphill Battle With GOP'

Politico reports:

From afar, it’s easy to get swept up by the hype: Jon Huntsman is accomplished, handsome, smart, and his civility message has appeal beyond the meat-eaters who dominate this early phase of the Republican presidential campaign.

This is the reason his small base, largely in the media — the select group of pundits like Mark Halperin and the “Morning Joe” stars, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski — have been unabashed in their Huntsman swooning. We have our share of swooners here at POLITICO, too.

They see in the former Utah governor someone with the potential to remake Republican politics, and dislodge the Washington conventional wisdom that the main variable regarding President Barack Obama’s re-election is the state of the economy rather than the opposing candidate.

But there is a problem: Up close, Huntsman’s challenges as the supposedly “electable” candidate for the GOP nomination are unmistakable — and, by all measures of modern Republican politics, likely insurmountable.