If only Huntsman were angrier

Even more it may be that Mr. Huntsman doesn’t fit the times; he may be out of sync with an electorate marked by anger and anxiety.

“Jon Huntsman is a complex individual; he looks at problems and sees the complexity,” said Alex Castellanos, a leading Republican consultant. “When you speak to him, you get the big picture but not a simple narrative.”

This is in contrast to some opponents, like Governor Rick Perry of Texas. “Rick Perry enjoys a beneficial simplicity. It’s not hard for him to focus on a problem and have an immediate solution,” said Mr. Castellanos, who is neutral in the contest, though his son works for Mr. Huntsman…

In a formula that seems more wistful than realistic, the Huntsman camp insists that while the extremes of the political spectrum dominate much of the debate, there is an angry center of the electorate that their candidate can tap into.