Vote for me or die in Hellfire

"And we must make hard decisions that are necessary to avert disaster. If we don't ... Our country will fall behind ... Our influence in the world will wane. Our security will be more precarious. The 21st Century then will be known as the end of the American Century." So sayeth Jon Huntsman, Prophet of Doom, in a speech today formally announcing his bid for president. Despite Huntsman's apocalyptic language, most observers panned the speech as utterly bland. That's a pretty neat trick. ("The End is Near, friends, and I ... hey, you in the first row, stop sexting and pay attention!") MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell remarked, "I made a point of watching the speech, but I kept nodding off." Ouch. If Huntsman and his fellow candidates wish to resonate with voters, they would be wise to take a page from the Reagan or Obama playbooks: Keep it positive, stupid.