Virtually every political analyst (including CL) before Tuesday night's Bloomberg/Washington Post debate wrote about Rick Perry's viability as a serious candidate was on the line.

But what about Jon Huntsman?

Don't say Jon who? Huntsman left his ambassadorship role in China earlier this year to run, but his lack of having an impact on the race seems to say as much about how conservative the party has gone over the past 20 years. On paper the man has an outstanding track record, both as Governor in Utah and with more foreign service experience than any of his other GOP opponents.

With his wife from Orlando, and some members of his family residing in Florida, Huntsman told a crowd at a Hillsborough County Republican meet and greet during the summer that he was running hard to win Florida, and would participate in the Presidency 5 straw poll in late September.

But with his campaign in Florida failing to gain traction, Huntsman weeks ago basically gave up on Florida and has put all his eggs into winning New Hampshire.

This article appears in Oct 6-12, 2011.