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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?
Sen. Mike Lee holds a fundraiser for former state Rep. Carl Wimmer, who is running for Congress.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz hits a rally for Romney in South Carolina and then flies to D.C. for votes.
SLC Mayor Ralph Becker meets with department directors, attends the Civilian Review Board meeting and offers his State of the City address.
WVC Mayor Mike Winder meets with officials at the city animal shelter.
President Barack Obama meets with the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, hosts King Abdullah II of Jordan and welcomes the World Series winning St. Louis Cardinals..
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— Thomas Burr and Matt Canham Twitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/mattcanham