Potential presidential candidate Jon Huntsman told George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America Friday morning, that he would not have intervened in Libya, defended his service in the Obama Administration, and staked out a clear position on a number of domestic policy issues.
The former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China distanced himself significantly from President Obama’s recent foreign policy decisions.
“I would have chosen from the beginning not to intervene in Libya,’ said Huntsman. “I would say that is not core to our national security interest.”
He went on to say, “We probably don’t need to be in certain parts of the Middle East where there are domestic revolutions playing out, where we probably just ought to let them play out.”
But Huntsman also vehemently stood up for his being a member of the Obama Administration.
“I worked for the President of the United States,” said Huntsman. “The president asked me, the president of all the people. And during a time of war, during a time of economic difficulty for our country, if I’m asked by my president to serve, I’ll stand up and do it.”
When pressed by Stephanopoulos if he would do it again, Huntsman replied with ‘I’d do it again. Of course.”
Then, when asked if he stood by comments he wrote in a letter to Obama calling him a “remarkable leader,” Huntsman dismissed the letter as nothing more than a thank you note.
“He chose me,” said Huntsman. “A Republican, and I wrote that to him by way of a thank you note. And thank you notes are a proud tradition for a lot of people.”
During the rest of the interview, taped from New Hampshire, Huntsman went on to say that he would repeal Obama’s health care law, he would have voted for Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan including the Medicare revisions, and by aligning himself with Speaker of the House John Boehner, said that he would vote to raise the debt limit if it corresponded with spending cuts
He reiterated his support of civil unions for same-sex couples, and even commented on immigration, saying “if they’re willing that needs to be done and work hard, then I think if we’re giving them an in-house tuition break, that integrates them into the system, and makes them part of ultimately contributing to our country.”
Though Huntsman did not say when he will make an official announcement on running for president, he did acknowledge that “we’re getting close to making a decision.”