"I love when people say she has no national-security experience, no foreign-policy experience," Huntsman told Utah delegates to the Republican National Convention. "The state borders Russia and Canada, for heaven's sake."
Huntsman defended Palin - a surprise pick by Sen. John McCain as his running mate - during a morning breakfast with delegates.
As a McCain surrogate, Huntsman has made the rounds in the Twin Cities, speaking to several delegations and appearing on TV to boost the Republican ticket.
He said Wednesday he cannot wait for the vice presidential debate between Palin and Sen. Joe Biden, the Democratic running mate.
"The expectation will be so low," Huntsman said, "and she'll just hit it all out of the park."
The Utah governor also attempted to deflect criticism over disclosures about Palin's past, including that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter is pregnant.
"She's going through a little challenge right now," Huntsman said. "I don't know of a family in American that can't relate to what Sarah Palin is going through."
U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., told the Utah delegates she is annoyed by criticisms of Palin as being governor of a "small state."
"Anchorage is the size of Delaware," Wilson said.
The two are roughly 2,000 square miles, though that comparison includes some 264 square miles of water in Anchorage.
Wilson added that Palin also has had one of the toughest jobs in America: mayor.
She said that role offers a fast-paced education about governing. Palin was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, a city of about 9,700 people.
"I don't care how big your town is because your name is in the phone book and everyone knows who you are," Wilson said, adding that the news media don't like her because, "the first woman [vice president] is going to be a pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, Republican woman."
