Candidate grateful for attorney general
Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman received an endorsement from South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson at the Statehouse Monday morning.
"This is the first constitutional officer, the attorney general of this terrific state, who has come out in favor of a presidential candidate," Huntsman said. "And I've got to tell you how deeply honored I am."
The former Utah governor, whose wife, Mary Kaye Huntsman, was at USC two weeks ago to pitch her husband's political views, was also the United States Ambassador to Singapore and later China.
Now that he's making a run for the White House, Huntsman is showing gratitude for Wilson's endorsement.
"Alan is a remarkable leader in his own right. What I like about Alan the most is that he's got a great family," Huntsman said.
Wilson, the son of Rep. Joe Wilson, said that Huntsman's fiscally conservative resume is what swayed him to endorse the candidate.
"[Huntsman] was twice elected governor of Utah. While serving he passed the largest tax cut in Utah history, balanced the budget and tripled the state's rainy day fund," Wilson said.
According to its website, the Pew Center on the States gave Utah an "A-" for government management back in 2008, which was during Huntsman's term.
Huntsman's experience with China, the nation that owns most of our country's debt, also scored him points with Wilson.
"When you look at China today, China is a preeminent world power. They are rising right now as we speak," Wilson said."The relationship with China as we go into this new century is vitally important. It's important that we have someone that recognizes that importance and how tricky that relationship can be."
Wilson closed his statement by saying that among the many Republican candidates in the crowded race, Huntsman is a fiscal conservative with strong core conservative values who can take that conservative message to the folks of the general election.
"We've got to be able to sell that [conservative] message to the American people in eight months and eventually a year from now," Wilson said.
Huntsman said that he is running for president because of the nation's declining status in the world.
"We're about to pass down a country to this generation that is less good, less competitive, less productive and saddled with debt," Wilson said. "We just had a Category 1 or Category 2 storm blow through the East Coast. People forget that we have a Category 5 economic disaster presently in our country."
Wilson added that having private sector experience, chief state executive experience and understanding a complex and confusing world are three things that are going to be important to the American people and who they look at as president of the United States.
Don't fret if you missed him. Huntsman said that his campaign is going to be seeing South Carolinians more often, one of the primary states of the election.
"I know we can do it. I feel even better about our prospects here in South Carolina," Huntsman said.