Jon Huntsman Jr., former Utah governor talks during an interview Tuesday, May 1, 2012, at Huntsman Corp. headquarters in Salt Lake City.
Tom Smart, Deseret News
Our take: In a recent interview with the Daily Telegraph, former Utah governor Jon Huntsman said that the "Republican Party is leaderless and "devoid of a soul" but can rebuild in the wake of its election defeat if it embraces its history of supporting limited government".
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, the former Utah governor and leading Republican moderate said the party must accept "a strong dose of libertarianism" on social issues and allow state governments to move ahead with gay marriage.
Offering his prescription for the party's renewal, Mr Huntsman said the early stages of the Republican presidential primaries rewarded extreme conservatives rather than "long-term competitive candidates" who could effectively take on the Democrats.
Barack Obama appointed the Mandarin-speaking 52-year-old US Ambassador to China in 2009, a decision the newly-elected President hoped would keep Mr Huntsman out of this year's election.
Obama campaign aides openly acknowledged that they believed the two-term governor would be a difficult general election opponent and possibly the most dangerous Republican in the field.
Read more about Republican party is 'devoid of a soul', says Jon Huntsman on The Daily Telegraph.
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Huntsman is simply too good, too intelligent, and too honest for the GOP.
I think the problem is that Republicans are all too ready to throw Huntsman under the bus. I lived in Utah when he was governor and had no problems with him or how the state was run. His family has done a lot to help people. The fact that all too More..
Huntsman was the only intelligent one on stage during the Republican Primaries! I might have even voted for him had he one the nomination. I am an Independant who voted for Omama the last two times only because I did not like McCain and I truly More..