Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman seems to be a darling of the media but is he a legitimate contender, or is there a lot of unwarranted hype associated with his brand? According to Pat Buchanan, it is the latter.
On the syndicated show “The McLaughlin Group” set to air this weekend, the MSNBC contributor downplayed Huntsman’s candidacy.
“You got a couple separate headlines but I think he’s delaying awfully long,” Buchanan said. “He didn’t show up for the New Hampshire debate. Jon, this guy, is the Wendell Willkie of 2012.”
Buchanan called Huntsman a “media candidate” who has received a lot of attention, perhaps more than is warranted considering his low poll numbers.
“Well, he’s the media candidate who is being imposed upon the Republican Party,” Buchanan said. “I’ve never seen sump a build-up for a candidate who is about at zero or one percent in the national polls. He’s got no agenda. He’s got no cutting-edge issue. He’s not been a leader of the party.”
Buchanan told viewers that Huntsman can’t be completely ruled out. However, based on his lack of a ground game in the two early primary states, he said that knocking off a frontrunner isn’t in the cards.
“Sure, he’s got a shot to get into this thing,” Buchanan said. “But he is nowhere in Iowa right now and I don’t see how he beats Mitt Romney or Michele Bachmann in either Iowa or New Hampshire. I think this guy is going to flame out very, very early. He is going to get a huge boost but he is going nowhere.”