Michael Brendan Dougherty defends Huntsman's campaign strategy:
The Huntsman campaign decided early to concede Iowa, believing with good reason at the time that someone like Michelle Bachman or Rick Santorum would win that state. (Bachmann did with the Iowa straw poll.) Romney had done the same thing. Huntsman was trying to force himself into a battle for Mitt Romney's supporters. But Romney has held steady until recently. This was a plausible strategy. Huntsman could not "out-conservative" Michelle Bachmann or Rick Santorum who have an almost tribal identification with the party's base. But now Huntsman can "out-conservative" Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich - both of whom are technocrats at heart who have been on both sides of most important issues.
Here's hoping. Huntsman's campaign has not been flawless, but he remains easily the most accomplished and impressive presidential candidate for the GOP, even as Ron Paul remains the most impressive from a consistently libertarian perspective.
The Dish 