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The conventional wisdom among the political punditry is that 2012 Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney will be hamstrung by the health-insurance plan he helped craft as governor of Massachusetts, which included a mandate to purchase insurance. That may not be true. In conservative circles, the health-insurance mandate has become shorthand for government overreach. But while each GOP presidential hopeful has disavowed it on the campaign trial, in recent days two of Romney’s top competitors — former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, who hasn’t declared his candidacy, and former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, whose Iowa barnstorming tour is well underway — have faced...

In the wake of Jon Huntsman Jr.’s waffle on his status as a Mormon, the other Mormon in the Republican presidential race, Mit Romney, has moved quickly to clarify his own Mormon bona fides. “I’ve gathered you all here today,” said Mr. Romney in a hastily called news conference on the grounds of his sprawling beach hideaway in California, “to announce that religion, like health care, should be left up to individual states. Mormonism, like Obamacare, is not a one-size-fits-all plan. So just as my medical plan is OK for Massachusetts but not the country, my religion is OK...

YouTube and social media sites like FaceBook and Twitter have changed the political landscape. In 2008, Mitt Romney’s previous statements on issues and other public figures were distributed widely via these new social media sites. It created an environment where Romney was caught contradicting himself on a regular basis. The 2012 campaign will be no different, but Romney will not be alone. Other candidates are already seeing their previous statements being used against themselves. Below are two recent YouTube videos that illustrate how what a candidate said a few years ago can come back to haunt them. One on Jon...

Jon Huntsman, former U.S. ambassador to China and prospective Republican presidential contender, responded to questions about his faith last week on Good Morning America. Huntsman faced criticism from some after he said to Time magazine recently his membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was “tough to define.” During Huntsman’s Good Morning America interview Friday, he was asked if he was a practicing Mormon, a question posed by a Salt Lake City resident who said she was confused as to his religious affiliation because of his comments. “I believe in God,” Huntsman said. “I’m a good Christian....

Washington (CNN) - After wrapping up a five day swing through the first in the nation primary state of New Hampshire, Jon Huntsman heads to Maine Monday afternoon to meet with former President George H.W. Bush. Huntsman is expected to have lunch with former President Bush and first lady Barbara Bush at their compound Kennebunkport. The former Utah governor and probable 2012 GOP White House hopeful has something in common with the former president: Both served as U.S. ambassadors to China. Huntsman's announcement earlier this year that he was stepping down from his post in Beijing to return to the...

"He's a Morning Joe candidate." That could be the kiss of death among Republican primary voters, but Mark Halperin meant it as a compliment. Today's Morning Joe panel was unanimous in its praise for Huntsman's performance in New Hampshire over the weekend. More from Mark Halperin: "As impressive as any couple I've seen . . . I was pretty blown away by how effective he was . . . more [comfortable in his skin] than Barack Obama and George Bush, and they for me in my career have been the gold standard . . . One of the liberal trackers...

The most important political story of the Obama era has been the Republican Party’s growing defiance of reality—its denial of climate science, its denunciations of Medicare cuts while proposing Medicare cuts, its denunciations of debt while proposing debt-exploding tax cuts, its resistance to financial regulation in the wake of a financial meltdown, and so on. Now the GOP’s most promising reality-based presidential candidate, Mitch Daniels, has passed up the race. Obviously, this has big implications for 2012. Michael Scherer thinks it means Mitt Romney is a practically inevitable nominee. I’m not so sure. But I am sure that reality’s fate...

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2012 White House hopeful Jon Huntsman made a plea for civility for the second day in a row during his five day opening campaign swing through New Hampshire, home of the leadoff primary next year. This time the former two-term Utah governor took aim at those in Washington negotiating over how to deal with the nation's $14 trillion federal debt in his commencement address to graduates of Southern New Hampshire University. Four years ago then-candidate Barack Obama did the same.

Orlando, Florida is nearly 2,000 miles away from Salt Lake City as the crow flies, about as far as you can get from Jon Huntsman’s old office in the Utah statehouse without dropping off the continental United States entirely. Huntsman’s recent decision to headquarter his campaign in Florida makes sense for logistical and political reasons but the location—and some recent remarks about his faith — have combined to produce a sharp reaction from the Mormon Establishment, solidifying the impression for many of the former governor’s constituents that he plans to keep his distance in more ways than one. -SNIP- Robert...

Yes, world, it is true: not all Mormons are alike. That's the news that's making headlines as buzz continues to build about the nascent presidential campaign of former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. Of course, I've been saying it for months here at RD: Romney is what many Mormons call a TBM--or "true-believing Mormon"—an orthodox believer and devout practitioner of the faith. Huntsman? Well, he's something else—an other-than-orthodox Mormon of a variety that contemporary Mormonism may not yet have the vocabulary to describe. Early Thursday morning, Matthew Bowman at the New Republic tried to spin the differences between Romney and...

The real question the media needs to ask Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman -- and even Harry Reid coincides with my new tagline: 'SHOW US YOUR SPIRITUAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE FROM KOLOB' Mormons make bold claims to a pre-existence on Kolob: Having a dad-become-god father and a divine mother...giving "spirit birth" as aliens to this planet. Then being sent here to Planet Earth to inhabit bodies. Well. We wanna see the proof! Actually, I'd even settle for significantly less than "proof!" I'd just like to hear each of them utter: "Yes, I was spirit-born on Kolob to a divine goddess." That's...

Last week marked the return of Mormons running for president in the nation’s news media in a big way. But if the initial coverage is any indication, I think the coverage this time will be more insightful about and more favorable toward Mormonism.That Mormon candidates have come up again is shown in Romney’s much-publicized health care speech at the University of Michigan. So does the new profile of Jon Huntsman in Time. There was also an article in the New Republic by Matt Bowman, an editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. He wrote:“But, beyond mere differences of personality,...

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Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty remains little-known beyond his home state, but he has begun to line up wealthy donors, a critical constituency. Even as he draws low single-digit support in early polls, Mr. Pawlenty has amassed a substantial roster of well-connected GOP donors and fund-raisers in his quest for the Republican presidential nomination. Their preference for Mr. Pawlenty could pose a challenge to his GOP rival, Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who has used experience as a 2008 candidate and background as a private-equity investor to build what is widely regarded as the largest network of high-impact fund-raisers...

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The only Mormon in the South Carolina legislature is Alan Clemmons, a real estate lawyer from Myrtle Beach with a shiny bald head, natty suits, and a hyperactive Twitter feed. Rep. Clemmons ardently supported Mitt Romney for president in 2008, raising money and rallying political support for the former Massachusetts governor. He is unlikely to do so again. Clemmons says he’s distressed by the distance Romney has kept from the state since departing abruptly for Michigan just before the 2008 primary. And he finds the insinuation from some in Romney’s circle that South Carolina has a religion...

Ambassador Jon Huntsman Jr., who appears more and more likely to run for the Republican Nomination in next year's Presidential election, attempted to portray his recent service as America's appointed representative to China as ideal patriotism of putting one's own country over party politics. Somehow, I don't think this is 1964. The last time Republicans realistically considered a candidate who served in the administration of an Democrat was Henry Cabot Lodge, who was beloved for his heroism and patriotism through numerous diplomatic, and legislative positions; not to mention his honorable military service during World War Two. Does anyone think Huntsman...

The only Mormon in the South Carolina legislature is Alan Clemmons, a real estate lawyer from Myrtle Beach with a shiny bald head, natty suits, and a hyperactive Twitter feed. -SNIP- Mormons make up about 2 percent of the U.S population, but they’re closer to 30 percent of the Republican presidential primary field, where two clean-cut, handsome, moderate, millionaire former governors — Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman — appear to be seeking the nomination. -SNIP- “This year will be very much like my election,” Gov. Nikki Haley told POLITICO. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re male or female or...

At Gamecock commencement, GOP hopeful defends China post as public service, is Reaganesque on American greatness, and quotes lyrics from "one of" his "favorite bands," Ben Folds Five. Your generation will have your own unique set of circumstances that make you feel like your future has somehow been derailed. Wars, economic recessions, social upheaval, revolutions around the globe...and yet, in each case, we recover, learn lessons and become ever more resilient. I know there are many in China who think their time has come, that America's best days are over. And, there are probably some in this country who have...

Former China Ambassador Jon Huntsman took his first step toward a presidential run Tuesday, creating a federal political action committee that will allow him to travel and raise money in the weeks before he’s expected to formally announce a bid. Moving swiftly since his return to Washington from Beijing Friday, Huntsman filed paperwork with the Federal Election Committee to begin “H PAC,” an organization that his aides say will be the last placeholder before a full-blown campaign. There will be no testing-the-waters entity or exploratory committee. “This is a paperwork step,” said spokesman Tim Miller. “He’s doing the organizational things...