The Trouble Lurking Offshore for Jon Huntsman

Every Presidential candidate has political baggage. Much of Jon Huntsman's is made in China. It's not just the two years he spent as Barack Obama's ambassador in Beijing, which some fellow Republicans are using to question whether he's sufficiently conservative. As he launches his campaign, Huntsman will likely find himself having to answer a much tougher question from recession-weary voters: Why is the booming family business that made him rich creating thousands of jobs in Asia and the rest of the world instead of the U.S.?

The former Utah governor chose to declare his candidacy last Tuesday from a park in New Jersey, where the cameras could capture the Statue of Liberty behind him. Not in the picture was the red and blue logo of Huntsman Corp., started by his father, billionaire Jon Huntsman Sr., a stalwart Republican who once worked in the Nixon White House. Jon Jr.'s powerful name and his success as a young executive in the family business eased his path to public office.