Jon Huntsman, media darling

By Richard K. Barry

Steve Benen noted a couple of days ago that GOP presidential contender Jon Huntsman is getting plenty of love from the media for a candidate who is consistently polling at the very back of the pack.

Among Republican voters nationwide, Fox News, Quinnipiac, CNN and Gallup all have him running last with 1% support.

Yet, as Benen points out, on Friday Huntsman was on CNBC's The Kudlow Report. On Thursday he was on Fox News' On The Record with Greta Van Susteren. On Wednesday it was John King, USA on CNN, and then last week, also on CNN, he was on Piers Morgan Tonight. And finally, he was scheduled to be on NBC's Meet the Press, though apparently this was cancelled due to hurricane coverage.

You get the point. Really lousy numbers, really great media coverage.

Benen rightly asks why Huntsman is getting such special treatment given the fact that he is performing so miserably.

Good question. What could account for all this media love?

The simple and totally unsophisticated answer is that sometimes the media falls in love with a candidate especially when they are so darn good looking and charming. And he does look "central casting" presidential though it is sad that politics often boils down to factors so banal.

Yes, apparently a lot of people making booking decisions at the above mentioned networks think that Huntsman is good TV even if only 1% of the Republican party thinks he's a particularly good candidate for the nomination.

That's my explanation. Got anything better?

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)