Instead, the first thing at least three Republican activists interested in Huntsman mentioned was his international experience.

As Jennings put it, “He’s the only one in the field who has foreign service experience.”

And noting that conservative Republicans have begun to take issue with Huntsman over his past support for civil unions and cap and trade, Jennings explained, “Conservative values alone will not save your house from foreclosure or save your job. Conservative values and 50 cents won’t buy you a cup of coffee in New Hampshire, and conservative values and $3 won’t even buy you a gallon of gasoline up here.”

A growing number of political strategists have begun to note that national security and foreign policy is inching up in importance to the 2012 presidential election, and a candidate like Huntsman is well positioned to take advantage of that shifting dynamic.

Bill Grimm, another Republican activist in the state, heaped praise on Huntsman, starting with his foreign credentials. In the same breath, he mentioned that he liked Huntsman’s record on health care, because as governor, Huntsman oversaw passage of a plan for Utah complete with an exchange and portability but lacking an individual mandate.