Presidential?

There is little doubt left that Utah’s governor is trying to position himself politically for something big outside the state. This week, for example, he met with the editorial board of the Washington Times.

As a potential national leader, he’s taking an interesting approach. Some Republican governors are bound and determined not to accept “Obama bucks,” otherwise known as money from the federal stimulus bill. That’s a politically dangerous position that could backfire, as this column by Roger Simon demonstrates.

No, Huntsman is happy to accept Obama bucks. He’s also eager to trash GOP congressional leaders (read the story and see the video here).

The governor is right about GOP leadership. They appear to be, as he said, “Gasping for air,” and they’ve lost the “moral soapbox.”

But, other than his modest proposal of cigarette taxes, spending the Rainy Day funds and judicious cutting to solve Utah’s relatively minor deficit, I’m not hearing a lot of specific new ideas from Huntsman, either. At least not on a grand, national scale.

Maybe that is yet to come. What do you think?