by Patrick Appel
Thomas Lane explains why GOP establishment is clamouring for Ryan or Christie to enter the race while ignoring Huntsman:
[T]he problem Huntsman faces is exactly that he is already in the race. Unlike Christie or Ryan there are now real polls for Huntsman, and they show him failing to catch alight. If he was entering the fray right now he'd figuratively be wearing a halo and would be suffused by a glowing ethereal light while angels flutter around him, plucking away at harps.
Hertzberg thinks Huntsman has embraced defeat:
This looks to me as if Huntsman is not just letting go of any remaining pretense of having even an outside chance of getting nominated this time; he’s also not worrying all that much about 2016. Right now, he’s not campaigning for President at all, he’s campaigning to regain his self-respect. You can almost feel his relief. What the hell. He might as well have a little fun.
Michael Tomasky hopes that Huntsman can reform his party, but he isn't betting on it:
Maybe if Huntsman can survive a while on the stump—and since he can self-finance to a large extent there would seem to be no reason that he couldn’t—and keep after his opponents from the perspective expressed over the last few days, he can help create an atmosphere where come 2013, if Obama is reelected, some GOP senators who know better might be emboldened to behave more maturely.
The more likely long-term scenario is that Huntsman will have negligible impact on his party. Unless the GOP does something truly self-immolating next year, like nominating a Bachmann who goes on to win 120 electoral votes, the current trajectory will likely continue for the foreseeable future.
Earlier coverage of Huntsman's change in tone here.
The Dish 