Huntsman staying course

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. stopped short of pledging to serve out a second term if he's re-elected but called questions about any role he would play in a McCain presidential administration presumptuous.

"We're doing what we're doing running for re-election," Huntsman told the Deseret Morning News during an interview Friday on a number of topics, including his longtime support for Arizona Sen. John McCain.

McCain is expected to be the Republican nominee for president, now that Utah's "favorite son" candidate, Mitt Romney, has dropped out of the race. Huntsman was one of the few Utah leaders early on who backed McCain over Romney.

That, of course, led to speculation that Huntsman would be a likely choice for a key role in a McCain administration. After all, Huntsman already has Washington, D.C., experience, as a U.S. ambassador to Singapore and as U.S. trade representative in Asia.

But the governor downplayed any interest in returning. "I had a great opportunity to serve in different capacities in Washington," Huntsman said. "You do your time and move on. I'm very happy to be doing what I'm doing here. This is a great honor."

Asked whether he would finish out a second four-year term if he is re-elected in November, Huntsman said, "that would be my every intention." But when pressed, he would not commit to rejecting any offers that would cut short his time in office.

Talking about leaving the governor's office before January 2013 would be "presumptuous," he said.

"I've already limited myself," Huntsman said, referring to the promise he made even before he was first elected governor in 2004 that he would limit his tenure to two terms.

"I know exactly how much time we have and how much we're going to try to fit in to that, and we'll do our best because we're going to be out of a job in the not too distant future," the governor said. "I hope after a second term. That's really the plan."

Former Gov. Mike Leavitt left to join the Bush administration after promising to serve out his third term. That changed, though, after Leavitt was tapped first to head the Environmental Protection Agency and later, Health and Human Services for Bush.

Huntsman made headlines when he announced in July 2006 he was supporting McCain. He had previously said he backed Romney and had helped the former leader of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City craft positions on China and other international issues.

And his father, billionaire philanthropist Jon Huntsman Sr., not only continued to endorse Romney but also became one of the former Massachusetts governor's top-level national fundraisers.