Some pretty good theories are turning up, the best and the brightest coming (so far) from Amy Davidson.
Why did Huntsman leave? The better question is, Why did he stay as long as he did? All elections have their oddities, but this one has been a carnival in which all of the clowns turn out to be carrying knives, and ready to use them... ...Sanity and relative moderation, which were meant to be Huntsman’s appealing qualities, seemed to drag him down in this race. (Nor did Huntsman, in the seven moths since declaring his candidacy, consistently adhere to those principles.) His exit will be of limited use to those who are torn between Gingrich and Santorum.
There’s also the forum factor. The candidates were meant to go from Huckabee’s show, where they sat on red upholstered chairs and got questions from uncommitted South Carolinians (at least one of whom had clearly decided on Ron Paul) to a Fox News debate Monday and a CNN debate Thursday and then somewhere between ten and a hundred more. Maybe Huntsman couldn’t take standing behind the podium, smiling politely amid the babbling. a single time more; many observers would sympathize with that. He might have grown tired of saying that serving as your country’s Ambassador does not mean that you are a traitor to your country. ...Amy Davidson, New Yorker
Haha, right? Traitor to your country... haha! But it's not really funny and it's as well to admit that a whole bunch of Americans are sickened and dismayed by the unflagging ignorance and bullying on the right. The clean-up has to come from the right itself. But which potential party leader -- choosing among the current Republican candidates with the probable exception of Huntsman -- is likely to stand up to the crud? Newt? Naw! Santorum? No, no moral keel. Ron Paul? Too self-interested.
Is there a single Republican we can think of who's going to bring some soap and water to the Republican party? Sorry, I'm blanking out, can't think of a single one.
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Hendrik Hertzberg reminds us that Tony Soprano endorsed Rick Santorum.
