'Jim' Huntsman a front-runner?

Utah's governor continues to attract national attention as a potential leader of the GOP and presidential candidate in 2012.

Now, if only everyone could get his name right.

CNN.com reported Tuesday that "Utah Gov. Jim Huntsman" was among five governors named by former Republican presidential candidate John McCain during an interview with Jay Leno on The Tonight Show.

The point of the cable news channel story was that McCain failed to mention his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. But it might just say more about how little name recognition Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has outside of the Beehive State.

"Um … Huntsman, Huntsman. ... .Let's see, the current governor. … That's a no, just off the top of my head, I don't know his first name," said Jonathan Weber, publisher of NewWest.Net, an online publication based in Montana that bills itself as "The Voice of the Rocky Mountains."

NewWest.Net was one of a number of sites that misidentified Huntsman's first name, a list that includes The Dallas Morning News and a conservative blog, newsmax.com, that thought "Jim Huntsman" had a shot at a cabinet post in a McCain adminstration.

In February, a NewWest.Net freelancer from Seattle wrote about the 2012 GOP field, including "an extremely unlikely candidate from our neck of the woods: Utah Gov. Jim Huntsman." She did praise Huntsman for making "a pretty bold move" by criticizing fellow Republicans for "gratuitous political griping" about the federal stimulus package.

Huntsman made those comments during one of several national media interviews he's given in recent months that have led to speculation he's looking ahead to a run at the White House. No less than the Washington Post has touted him as an attractive candidate.

But Weber, who follows politics in the region, said he hadn't heard much about a possible Huntsman candidacy. "I can certainly see the logic in him being seen as a good national candidate," the publisher said.

Still, Weber pointed out, the national media suggested a similar future for Montana's Democratic governor, Brian Schweitzer, that has yet to materialize. The reality, he said, is that states like Utah and Montana "carry less clout on the national stage."

That doesn't stop the speculation, of course.

"In small states, people kind of get excited about their local guys," Weber said. "The view from close up can look a little different than the view from Washington."

McCain referred to Huntsman only by his last name on the show that aired Monday but the pair know each other well. Huntsman was an early supporter of the Arizona senator's campaign and had been mentioned as a long-shot vice-presidential candidate.

The other governors McCain referred to during his appearance on The Tonight Show were Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, Charlie Crist of Florida and Mitt Romney, who served a term as governor of Massachusetts after leading the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

"We have, I'm happy to say, a lot of voices out there," McCain said while discussing the GOP's future. "There are a lot of governors out there who are young and dynamic."

And although McCain didn't refer to Palin, he was quick to add, "I've left out somebody's name and I'm going to hear about it."

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