Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, by all metrics, is the front-runner this primary season. He has raised more than anyone running for president except for the president himself. He has the advantage of having run for president before and is ahead in national polls. But if early polls meant everything, Howard Dean and Hillary Clinton would have been our last two presidents.

Whatever you think of Romney — I think he’s an acceptable alternative to Obama — he has one indisputable problem: His poll numbers have leveled off. He currently is getting about as much support as Rudy Giuliani did when he ran for president. Pundits call it “weak front-runner status.”

Conservatives can live with him if he’s the nominee, but he’s not exactly the first choice.

Accordingly, Republican pundits, donors and primary voters are looking for a credible alternative to the former Massachusetts governor. They want someone who can show backbone in a debate (sorry, Tim) and go toe-to-toe with Obama. I believe that candidate is former Utah governor and former ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman.

He’s garnered some national media attention for good reason. Utah was rated the best-managed state in the U.S. during his governorship. He cut taxes, grew Utah’s economy and passed some of the sternest pro-life legislation in the country. Unlike the other candidates in this race, Huntsman has foreign policy credentials. And while Romney and Pawlenty are both as exciting as going to the dentist, Huntsman has charisma and charm.

The most important reason I believe he might just be the GOP’s “white knight” is his adult behavior.
It’s a rarity in both parties these days, and voters will notice. He’s not a flaming idiot like Donald Trump, spewing false tales about the president’s birth; he is an intelligent man who points out substantive criticisms of Obama’s agenda. In the most polarized election of my lifetime, this conservative Republican has no shame touting his ambassadorship under a president with whom he frequently disagrees.

Skeptics will argue Romney is hard to beat, and wartime presidents are rarely dethroned. But in all fairness, this election will be different. Unemployment hasn’t hovered around 9 percent this long since the Great Depression. It’s fair to say many Americans are scared and confused about China’s economic growth and our economic stagnation. When Americans hear Huntsman can discuss Chinese politics with heavyweights, such as Dr. Henry Kissinger, they might just want to hear the case for a Huntsman presidency.

American politics are not the same this time either. Ask Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, about reaping the benefits of a volatile electorate. The way to win a primary also has changed — with Iowa becoming increasingly irrelevant — especially in the Republican primary. Mike Huckabee winning Iowa last time around did not detract from John McCain winning just about everywhere else.

Honestly, no one knows what will happen in this primary. What we do know is the country — not just the Republican Party — is dissatisfied with political leadership. We are in an economic, social and cultural funk. No politician has convinced the electorate the 21st century will be another “American century.”

If Huntsman can convince voters his budget balancing record in Utah and grown-up manners as ambassador are worth giving him the nomination, he can do to Romney what Obama did to Hillary Clinton. And if so, he might do to Obama what Obama did to McCain — win big.

He’s got my vote.

Ameek Singh is a State News guest columnist and an international relations junior. Reach him at sodhiame@msu.edu.