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Huntsman's political future. Romney's potential impact on Utah races. Salt Lake's flirtation with another Olympic bid.
Happy Tuesday. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is no longer a presidential candidate after he talked with his family and advisers and decided that Mitt Romney is the inevitable nominee. Huntsman's chief strategist John Weaver tells the Trib: "There’s not any point in staying in longer, other than for ego and that’s not what Governor Huntsman is about." [Trib]
Huntsman bows out: He had the resume, but his campaign never seemed to get off the ground. [WaPost] [FoxNews] [CBSNews] [DNews]
-> So what does Huntsman do next? He can run against Sen. Orrin Hatch in Utah, try to get a spot in a Romney administration, get a job in corporate America or bide his time until 2016. [Trib] What do you think? Go to our Facebook page and answer our poll. [Facebook]
-> Democrats quickly seize on Huntsman's long list of swipes at Romney. [Trib] [LATimes]
-> Rick Santorum brushes aside Huntsman's endorsement of Romney saying it is just a moderate backing a moderate. [ABCNews]
-> Now that Huntsman is out of the race, he could run his own super PAC. [WaPost]
-> Stephen Colbert takes credit for Huntsman's retreat. [Politico]
Topping the news: Explore the religious reasons why some evangelicals have concerns with Romney's Mormon faith. [NYTimes]
-> A decade after the Salt Lake Winter Olympics, some officials are eyeing the opportunity to host the world again in 2022. [Trib]
-> If Romney leads the GOP ticket come November, Utah's Republicans could benefit from higher turnout. [DNews]
Today's news: Gov. Gary Herbert is keeping an eye on a plan to pump Green River water to Denver, but he isn't ready to oppose it just yet. [Trib]
-> Rolly says former Rep. Craig Frank ran into some property tax payment problems but has it all figured out now. [Trib]
-> Afghanistan is still a war zone and 360 Utahns are on their way there. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Political insiders expect some tweaks to Utah's guest worker law. [UtahPolicy]
-> A Dan Jones poll found that 85 percent of respondents felt that education was important to the state's future. [UtahPolicy]
Tweets of the day: From @fivethirtyeight: "This is not the climactic week of the GOP nomination. It's the week when the show got canceled and all plot twists are hastily resolved."
From @MittRomney: "I salute Jon Huntsman & his wife Mary Kaye. He ran a campaign based on unity not division, & love of country. I appreciate his support."
Happy birthday: To SUU's Brittney Park and First Lady Michelle Obama. And belatedly to state Rep. Jim Bird and ex-GOP State Vice Chair Christy Achziger, both of whom celebrated yesterday.
Opinion section: Rolly says people who just watch Fox News or MSNBC have a skewed view of reality. [Trib]
-> Utah Republican Party Chairman Thomas Wright argues for a permanent vote-by-mail approach to voting in the state. [Trib]
-> The state director of rural development of the Department of Agriculture questions the need to reorganize the state's Department of Community and Culture. [Trib]
-> A criminal defense attorney reminds everyone that people charged with crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty. [Trib]
-> Bagley says MLK's dream is unfulfilled. [Trib]
-> A NYTimes contributor says Romney is the "whitest man to run for president in recent memory." [NYTimes]
-> Former Sen. Bob Bennett says Romney is effectively using technology to reach voters in the early primary states. [DNews]
2012 watch: Romney's four remaining challengers took aim at his job creation record and wealth in the latest debate. [NYTimes] [WaPost]
-> Romney is asked about his faith in Jesus Christ and chats about religion. [LATimes]
-> Maureen Dowd raises Romney's polygamist roots in questioning him as the GOP nominee. [NYTimes]
-> Colbert's super PAC hits Romney for being a serial killer. [Colbert]
-> Influential pastor Robert Jeffress -- yes, he of the Mormonism is a cult comment -- says evangelicals could vote for Romney: "We're not voting for pastor-in-chief." [ABCNews]
-> Approached by a woman who says she's struggling financially, Romney gives her a wad of cash. [CNN]
-> Attacks on Romney's business background with Bain Capital could actually help him by keeping the focus on economics and away from social issues. [NYTimes]
-> Romney looks for support from military service members and their families. [Politico]
-> South Carolina could help Romney seal up the nomination. [USAToday] And with rival Republicans helping to split up the anti-Romney vote, he could be a lock for the state's vote. [ABCNews]
-> South Carolina could be the first big test of whether Romney's Mormon faith poses a problem with evangelicals. [TampaBayTimes]
-> A Daily Beast writer looks back at the car crash that Romney was involved in during his LDS mission to France. [DailyBeast]
-> Rick Santorum says it would be "malpractice" to vote for Romney. [CBSNews]
Weekend in review: Saratoga Springs Mayor Mia Love is a black Republican, but don't try to put her in a box. [DailyCaller]
-> The Herald's Billy Hesterman looks at whether Utah's caucus-convention system is a good idea or worth tossing out. [Herald]
-> Wanted: More women to run for political office to help turn the tide against a male-dominated elected class. [Trib] [Herald] McEntee encourages women to get involved. [Trib]
-> The Utah League of Cities and Towns starts hiring their own journalists to develop positive stories about municipalities. [CityWeekly]
-> Utah's federal officials are optimistic about President Barack Obama's idea to create efficiencies in government but they're witholding support for now. [Trib]
-> Former SLC Mayor Rocky Anderson is running for president and suggests Americans can get together to overthrow the corrupt influence of money in politics. [Trib]
-> AG Mark Shurtleff is accused of plagiarism for a column he wrote about online piracy. [Trib]
-> United States AG Eric Holder says there's still much more work to do on reaching MLK's dream. [Trib]
-> Trib deputy editor Tim Fitzpatrick writes a nice column about Thomas Burr's trek covering the presidential campaign. [Trib]
-> The DNews finds critics who say that privatizing liquor stores could lead to overconsumption. [DNews]
-> Mormons views on immigration set them apart from their evangelical counterparts. [DNews]
Where are they?
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-- Thomas Burr and Matt Canham
Twitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/mattcanham
