If you’re seeking to do away with your potential political rivals, you could do worse than sending them on a long sojourn to China.
CNN is reporting that:
President Obama has selected Republican Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. to be his ambassador to China, sources tell CNN.
Huntsman, who speaks Mandarin Chinese and has adopted a daughter from China, had been touted as a potential rival to Obama in the 2012 presidential election.
Huntsman, 49, is a former deputy U.S. trade representative and ambassador to Singapore. A Mormon, he did missionary work in Taiwan, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
David Plouffe, Obama’s 2008 campaign manager, described Huntsman as “the one person in that (Republican) party who might be a potential presidential candidate,” U.S. News and World Report reported earlier in May.
Huntsman seems well-suited to the post, and he’s probably developed strong diplomatic skills governing as a moderate in redder-than-red Utah.
IESHO, a stroke of genius on Obama’s part.