Early in his tenure, former Gov. Mike Leavitt liked the give and take with the media. He would routinely return reporters' telephone calls personally. Leavitt was glib with the press and liked to see his name in the paper, his face on TV.

Former Gov. Olene Walker, who was Leavitt's lieutenant governor and took the top post when Leavitt resigned in the fall of 2003 to join the Bush administration, had long had good relations with the media.

While Walker cultivated the LDS grandmotherly stance with the public (she actually is an LDS grandmother), she, also, liked to talk to the press, often joking with reporters about daily events.

Huntsman told the Morning News that he finds calling a press conference and talking about this or that issue "crass."

He doesn't seem to like bantering with reporters. Early in 2005 it was clear that Huntsman didn't like to be surprised by questions. He wanted to be fully briefed on an issue by staff before talking to the media about it.

No doubt this comes from both his private and federal government experience.

Huntsman served twice as an ambassador in Republican presidents' administrations. And no doubt it was poor work, perhaps even dangerous, for an ambassador to shoot his mouth off about something before study, reflection and perhaps guidance from above.

But while Huntsman says he is more of an ambassador or a statesman than a local politician, the fact is he is a local politician.

He has already had to kneel in the sometimes-petty politics of special interests. Huntsman last spring advocated a "flatter" state income tax that didn't have deductions for charitable giving or mortgage interest.

But after LDS Church leaders made it plain that Utah should keep charitable deductions on state returns, Huntsman and his top tax advisers quickly changed the governor's income tax reform proposal to include a charitable-giving credit.

It appears that a modified Huntsman tax-reform package is now headed for approval in the 2006 Legislature.

Huntsman's first year in office was a learning experience. But also a growing experience. He did OK. And he can approach the 2006 midterm elections knowing that any GOP candidate he may back will only be enhanced by that endorsement.

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Deseret Morning News political editor Bob Bernick Jr. may be reached by e-mail at bbjr@desnews.com