Huntsman delivers convention speech — but only to Utah delegation

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Utah's delegates Wednesday morning heard a preview of the speech Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. still hopes to deliver at the Republican National Convention.

Huntsman, a loyal supporter of the party's presumptive presidential nominee, John McCain, was bumped from a prime speaking spot Tuesday because of changes made to the convention schedule in the wake of Hurricane Gustav.

Instead of Huntsman, the convention heard from President Bush, who delivered his address in a live video feed from the White House.

The governor will not be speaking tonight, according to the schedule released today by the party. The governor also said this morning he had no word whether there would be a place for him on the podium before the convention ends Thursday night.

Just in case he does deliver — or maybe, in case he does not — he delivered parts of the speech to an appreciative audience during the Utah delegation's breakfast meeting Wednesday morning.

In a world of artificiality, McCain, the governor said, "is someone who really represents that great word, 'authenticity,' better than anyone we've seen in recent history."

Huntsman described his own emotional visit to the "Hanoi Hilton" where McCain was held as a prisoner of war for more than five years during the Vietnam War.

The governor, then a U.S. trade ambassador in Vietnam to finalize a trade agreement, made the trip the day after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the United States.

"My world had changed and I was trying to make sense of it," Huntsman said. "I wanted to make sense of what happened to my country."

When he saw McCain's flight suit on display at the former prisoner of war facility, the governor said he realized "in the post-9/11 world, we really need some people who believe in service and sacrifice."

Huntsman said he "left the Hanoi Hilton as a changed person, someone who saw John McCain as the ultimate, ultimate example of service and sacrifice."

The governor also defended McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Palin has been criticized for having limited experience and earlier this week revealed her unmarried teenage daughter is pregnant.

"She's going through a little challenge right now in her family," Huntsman said, questioning media reports that the daughter's pregnancy is a "political bombshell."