Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, renewed his tough talk yesterday. A day after saying that the GOP field has "zero substance", Huntsman discussed the possibility of joining his competition on a general election ticket as a vice presidential candidate. He said he would not consider running with Mitt Romney but when asked about running with tea party favorite Michele Bachmann, he responded, "If you love this country, you serve this country." The former ambassador to China went on to say, "if you are in a position to better the country, to bring whatever background you have to bear, whatever experiences to use in fine tuning our future, I'll be the first person to sign up, absolutely."
If Michele Bachmann were to win the Republican nomination, a new Gallup poll shows that among registered voters, President Obama would come out on top in the general election. And in match-up with Ron Paul, the President would beat the Texas congressman by 2%. However, if Rick Perry were the Republican nominee, the poll shows a tie between the Texas governor and President Obama. According to Gallup, Mitt Romney is the only candidate leading the President Obama in a potential 2012 match-up, 48% to 46% .
As speculation grows about whether other Republicans will jump into the race, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan now officially says he is not running. In a statement, the Wisconsin Congressman said he was humbled by the encouragement but has not changed mind. Meanwhile, during his vacation on Martha's Vineyard, President Obama played a round of golf on Sunday and ran into Oscar winning actor Morgan Freeman. Speaking to the Boston globe, Freeman offered some advice for the President, saying "What I wanted to tell him is to get pissed off, get fighting mad, but I know he won't because he doesn't think it's politically smart." The Obama supporter also commented on the President's re-election, saying "If I could vote for him one thousand times, I would."