C. Boyden Gray, former White House Counsel and EU Ambassador, has signed on as the chair of the Jon Huntsman policy team, Mark Halperin reports. He sees this as a major sign:
This is the first, but by no means the last, of eye-catching endorsements Huntsman will get from the GOP Establishment, including many with ties to Ronald Reagan and Bushes 41 and 43. Gray’s endorsement will be a semiotic dog whistle for a lot of big-time bundlers. It doesn’t mean Huntsman will get the nomination, of course, but combined with the Wall Street and corporate America backing he is already in line to receive, it will give him a leg up on becoming the Romney Alternative. And, at this point, becoming the Romney Alternative is the whole ball of wax.
Gray (who, in full disclosure, is a member of the Atlantic Council board of directors) is a consummate political insider, having clerked for Chief Justice Earl Warren, served in a number of prominent roles in government going back to the Reagan administration, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Clinton. He’s also a founding co-chairman of FreedomWorks.
Does this mean that Huntsman is likely to become the Republican nominee? No. But I can’t imagine Gray would waste his time on a lost cause, either; so, clearly, he believes Huntsman has a real shot at the vice presidency, if not the nomination.
