Huntsman’s first step toward oblivion

That is the essence of Huntsman’s appeal, and, by the caustic political standards of 2011, it is a radical proposition. Huntsman, who was until recently President Obama’s ambassador to China and yet who notably didn’t mention Obama by name in his kickoff speech, made a plea for “civility, humanity and respect” — the very qualities our political system seems to abhor.

I wish Huntsman luck in this noble pursuit, but the high road almost always leads to political oblivion. For Huntsman to maintain his course all the way to the Republican presidential nomination would turn politics on its head. More likely, he will join other decent men — Richard Lugar, Orrin Hatch — whose presidential campaigns were quickly forgotten…

Huntsman’s would-be opponents are happy to fill in the blanks: Democrats point to his reversal on cap-and-trade for carbon emissions, conservatives complain about his support for civil unions, and the White House is trying to paint him as a behind-the-scenes moderate. To fight those impressions, the campaign will have to do more than put out videos of a Huntsman body double riding a motocross bike in the Utah desert, while soulful music plays and a disembodied voice attests that Huntsman played in a high school band and prefers “a greasy spoon to a linen tablecloth.”