Huntsman gets behind Romney bid

A Western, small-state governor gets active early in the next presidential race, backing a fellow GOP governor from a big state, writing briefing papers for him, lining up support — and ends up in his presidential Cabinet.

Yes, that was the road taken by former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt on behalf of President Bush, who was governor of Texas when he ran and won the presidency in 2000. Leavitt is now secretary of health and human services, overseeing the biggest budget in the federal government.

Is Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. walking a similar path?

Perhaps. Huntsman said Tuesday he wouldn't be interested in joining the presidential administration of the candidate he's backing for president, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. "I have the best (political) job in the world right now," Huntsman said.

Like Leavitt before him, however, Huntsman is an early supporter of a potential U.S. presidential candidate — in this case, Romney, a fellow Republican who is seen by many as gearing up to run for the nation's top office in 2008.

And like Leavitt, Huntsman is writing briefing papers for his man, working for him behind the scenes politically as well.

Huntsman told the Deseret Morning News editorial board Tuesday that he has written a foreign policy paper on China for Romney. Huntsman speaks Mandarin Chinese and has served as an ambassador to Singapore and as trade ambassador to the Far East.

"I've written a paper on China for him, because he asked," said Huntsman, who said he now plans on running for re-election himself in 2008.

Huntsman said he's also informally been talking to national security and foreign policy experts in Washington, D.C., lining up, if you will, smart people who might be willing to sign on with Romney if Romney ultimately gets into the race.

Romney's spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, said Huntsman was "very helpful" in providing information about a favorite topic of the Massachusetts governor — the challenges "posed by the emerging economies of the Far East, particularly China."

Huntsman, Fehrnstrom said, "is a good friend to Mitt Romney, and his advice is always welcome." He said the pair discussed Huntsman's involvement during a visit Romney made to Utah earlier this year.

But, Fehrnstrom noted, Romney is interested in what Huntsman has to say as a governor, not as a candidate for higher office. "He's not a presidential candidate. Gov. Romney is focused on the job of governing the state of Massachusetts," Fehrnstrom said.

Romney, who is up for re-election next year, will make an announcement about his political future in the fall, his spokesman said.

Like all Republicans who want to succeed Bush, who by the U.S. Constitution can't run again, Romney has not declared his 2008 candidacy. But the Massachusetts governor, considered a moderate in the GOP, has been moving more to the political right recently, as well as visiting states that hold early presidential caucuses or primaries.

Romney, of course, is well known in Utah, having headed the successful 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

"I've told (Romney) that I'd help (him) in putting together a national security team," said Huntsman. "I've talked to some people in Washington, D.C., about keeping their powder dry" — not signing up with any other potential GOP national candidates. These people "are the best in this particular line of work."

Huntsman said it's still early, and some of the foreign policy experts may want to join up with some other GOP presidential candidates down the road.

"But I'll do whatever I can" for Romney, Huntsman said. "Mitt would make an excellent candidate. I'm probably the only governor who has come out this early" in supporting a potential GOP presidential candidate, he said.