Auditioning for 2016?

Yesterday, Republican Jon Huntsman abruptly quit his post as US ambassador to China (he'll return to the US in April). Some observers believe he intends to make a 2012 presidential bid. If true (and I'm not quite convinced it is), it still strikes me as a dumb move. Yet, unlike most of the GOP wingnutters in the 2012 presidential field, Huntsman is no dummy.

Mother Jones writer Kevin Drum weighs in:

"Huntsman's chances do indeed seem pretty slim in this election cycle — both in the primaries and in the general election. However, his name recognition is minuscule, and if he wants to run seriously in 2016 he needs to become better known. The best way to do that is to run in 2012. If he runs a decent, serious race, but loses to a more wingnutty candidate who then gets blown out by Obama, he'll have pretty good credentials for a 2016 run. ... Huntsman seems like a pretty smart, self-aware guy, and I wouldn't be surprised if he knows perfectly well that the odds are stacked against him. Most likely, what he's really doing is auditioning for 2016."

Yep. That sounds plausible. The downside, of course, is that Huntsman could hurt himself in 2012 should he stumble and gets stigmatized as a "loser." He'd be wiser to keep his ammo dry, plot strategy, build a solid campaign organization -- and wait for 2016.