COMMENTARY | Now that Jon Huntsman has crashed and burned in 2012 despite his impressive qualifications, it reminds us all of another liberal Republican with an impressive resume who flamed out in his presidential run: Rudy Giuliani.
Giuliani started off as the presumptive front-runner. After all, the former New York Mayor and prosecutor was "America's Mayor," the man with the bullhorn rallying America after its darkest day, with a greater media response to the 9/11 tragedy than the U.S. president. There was even an aura of inevitability about his nomination after 2001, leading up to 2008. He attracted campaign management talent. He even attracted endorsements and donations from wealthy investors and Hollywood stars.
Though his moderate positions would appeal to an increasingly non-partisan electorate, it would be a different story for this liberal Republican in a conservative party nomination forum. Therefore, Giuliani decided to bypass those early contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Michigan, Wyoming, etc.
He put all of his eggs in one state basket: Florida. Though he started out with an early lead in the Sunshine State, other candidates like Mike Huckabee, John McCain and Mitt Romney built momentum off of their early state wins. The next thing he knew, Giuliani was losing Florida, and any chance he had to with the nomination. He was gone shortly after these early states.
Huntsman's 2012 campaign had a lot in common with Giuliani. Though he wasn't as well known, Huntsman had an equally impressive resume, with gubernatorial experience, huge election victories, and foreign affairs credentials as U.S. Ambassador to China, something sorely lacking in the other GOP candidates this election.
But that's not all Huntsman shares with Giuliani's campaign four years ago. Mindful of the same difficulties moderates have in a party primary system geared toward conservatives (and that "scandal" of having served the U.S. while Barack Obama was president), Huntsman pinned all of his hopes on one state: New Hampshire.
Even though the state held its primary earlier than Florida four years ago, the results were the same. Huntsman failed to even score a second place finish in the Granite State. He dropped out before the next primary in South Carolina.
The lesson is clear for Republican candidates. Either focus on multiple states instead of a single state, or push for a process that stimulates more cross-over voting and independent appeal. GOP voters may scoff, but wouldn't the 2008 election have been closer with Giuliani on the ticket against Obama?
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