“Sitting in the echo-y living room of his new Washington home, Huntsman, a tall, lean man with silver hair and impeccable posture, pauses only briefly when faced with the question of presidential aspirations. ‘You know, I’m really focused on what we’re doing in our current position,’ he says. ‘But we won’t do this forever, and I think we may have one final run left in our bones.’ Asked whether he is prepared to rule out a run in 2012 (since it would require him to campaign against his current boss), he declines to comment.

“The winking response—about as close to a hat-in-ring announcement as you’ll get from a sitting member of the incumbent’s administration—could just be a hollow cry for attention. But sources close to Huntsman (who requested anonymity to speak freely without his permission) say that during his December trip to the U.S., he met with several former political advisers in Washington and Salt Lake City to discuss a potential campaign. ‘I’m not saying he’s running,’ says one supporter who has worked with him in the past. ‘But we’re a fire squad; if he says the word, we can get things going fast.’ What’s more, Huntsman tells NEWSWEEK that when he accepted the ambassadorial appointment, he promised his family they would ‘come up for air’ sometime in 2010 to decide how much longer they would stay in Beijing. ‘I’m not announcing anything at all,’ he says. But he sure seems to be hinting…

“Contrived as it may sound—Huntsman has used versions of the ‘underutilized ear’ talking point before—this philosophy stands in stark contrast with the angry, crusading style of politics espoused by many of the leading Republican presidential hopefuls. But supporters say the success of his bridge-building approach speaks for itself. As governor of the reddest state in the Union, Huntsman championed unpopular gay-rights legislation, updated the state’s culturally entrenched liquor laws, publicly endorsed cap-and-trade—and still left office with approval ratings above 80 percent. His supporters within the GOP hope he can do the same thing at the national level.”

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