Props to President Obama for making the appointment based on qualifications and experience, instead of rewarding a political crony. Click here to read the glowing praise Mr. Obama gives him.
Jon Huntsman served an LDS mission in Taiwan thirty years ago, and still speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese. My dad graduated with Ambassador Huntsman (Brighton High, class of '78), though I have a feeling he and my dad did not run with the same crowd.
Some GOP pundits have eyed Mr. Huntsman as a potential Presidential candidate for 2012. He certainly has an impressive in resume in terms of international relations and business, Utah has prospered economically under his tenure as a governor, AND he's a clean-cut family man with a squeaky-clean public image. But, alas, we saw in 2008 that anti-Mormon bias among conservative Evangelicals (who form a large part of the GOP base --- especially in the critical Southern states) made Mitt Romney unelectable. It'll be awhile before America elects an LDS president...at least a Republican one.
Still, it would be interesting to see Mr. Huntsman court Chinese-American voters (who're definitely a growing demographic) on the campaign trail. Last year, when my roommate (who also served in Taiwan ) and I went to Arches National Park we ran into a Chinese family as we were coming down the hiking trail. The dad asked Drew in halting English how far they were from the Delicate Arch. Drew replied, in Mandarin, "You'll be there in about ten minutes." Stunned, the Chinese man stared at Drew and uttered the one phrase I understand: "...shiu-shiu!" ("thank you!") The Chinese family were amazed that an American could speak Mandarin.
I speak Spanish...but Hispanic people generally aren't impressed when speak Spanish to them...but then again, I've been told that I speak the language well enough to pass for a native speaker. Drew, however, can't pass for a native Chinese speaker no matter how good he gets (and he is pretty dang good.)
2 comments:
I bet he's as good as they get. The wide-eyes, I mean. I used to get the same thing from Spanish-speakers. "Why do you talk like a Mexican?", they'd say. "I don't know, I guess 'cause I worked with many of them", I'd reply.
And I believe that's all the sheisse I'll give you for one night. I've gone from your most recent and counted down. Best wishes, Alex.
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