I'm coming a little late to this, but Obama's selection of Jon Huntsman as the U.S. Ambassador to China strikes me as a great idea. Not because Huntsman was a potential 2012 opponent--he never had a chance, and what's more he knew it--but because it enhances the prestige of both men, while it shows how hopeless the GOP has become that one of its brightest stars is essentially abandoning it right now. Huntsman is another of the relatively few Republicans That I Like, and accepting an offer like this merely proves his civic-mindedness and accentuates his ability to do something--i.e. diplomacy, especially with the Chinese--that might well make him more appealing if he decides to run for president in a year where the stars are aligned for a different kind of Republican.
What's more, Obama's attempts to corner the market with respect to foreign policy seem to be working splendidly. Over the past few months, Obama has offered positions to Bob Gates, Jim Jones, Chuck Hagel and Jon Huntsman. Hagel declined the ministerial job, but he's unlikely to become the GOP's foreign policy poster boy anytime soon, considering that he was booted out of the Senate for mild skepticism about the "surge". It seems clear to me that, at this time, the GOP has virtually nobody of any stature to mount a credible critique of Obama's foreign policy, at least that I can think of, as Obama has co-opted all of them. Admittedly, that's not going to stop them from trying, and we'll see more and more of Newt Gingrich's ugly old mug on television in the months to come. The public, however, doesn't trust him and doesn't trust Boehner, McConnell or Steele. Having Condi Rice speak out makes a bit more sense, considering her inexplicable popularity unleavened by having been a critical part of the Iraq War planning. But I don't think a former Bushie is the right person to critique Obama's policy either, and that administration's shoddy record on these matters is why I suspect that her criticisms have been muted.
And if this trend holds--and if the Obama team avoids any huge embarrassing missteps on foreign policy--it strikes me that a GOP resurrection will be very unlikely, as the GOP was largely held together in the Bush years by its allegedly necessary, "tough" foreign policy and Republicans' historic strength has been foreign policy. Not to mention that the other point where the Democrats had a greater share of the public's trust on security/foreign policy/war matters--that would be World War II--Republicans spent a generation in fruitless and pointless opposition. The GOP really is going to have to get real if they want back in the game.
