Republican presidential candidate former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman speaks during a Republican presidential candidate debate at the Reagan Library Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011, in Simi Valley, Calif.
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Jon Huntsman Jr.'s "forceful performance" at Wednesday night's presidential debate elicited an interesting comparison from veteran political analyst Jeff Greenfield: Huntsman deserves the equivalent of the National Hockey League's Lady Byng Trophy.
One of the NHL's premier annual awards, the Lady Byng Trophy is given to the player "adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability."
Greenfield, the former Bobby Kennedy speechwriter penning a guest op-ed piece for Politico with the headline "Huntsman wins a prize nobody wants," notes that honest and civil politicking essentially equates to the kiss of death in presidential primaries.
"Every four years, the press corps dubs one candidate the exemplar of tough, honest, truth-telling, willing to confront his or her party's orthodoxies with a cold blast of reality. That candidate wins praise from columnists; a warm embrace from a news magazine; admiring profiles on network news shows. The only thing the Lady Byng winner never wins — never, ever, ever — is a presidential nomination."
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Jamshid Ghazi Askar is an enterprise reporter covering Values in the Media for the Deseret News.
A proud half-Iranian born in Los Angeles, Mr. Askar spent his formative years growing up in Orange County. more ..
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To DN Subscriber | 11:47 a.m. Sept. 8, 2011
Wrong on all counts.
NOT a RINO -- the RINOs are the far right extremists who hijacked the Republican Party to the far right fringes. Huntsman is a conservative Republican, and a More..
So, Huntsman wins an "Oscar" for his performance as a RINO?
Good acting.
Bad governot.
Worse choice for president.
I like Huntsman. He's a realist. We could use that in this country. I also like his distance from religion and his acceptance of science. Again, he's a realist.
He's also quite cultured.