HE MAY have been a fine ambassador to China, but in the end Jon
Huntsman did not have either the killer instinct or the common
touch to win really big in politics. When he broke into Mandarin
to make a point about China, he only underlined his own standing
as a member of America's mandarin class rather than a man of the
people. Though such mistakes were not quite fatal in the New
Hampshire race, where he came third, Mr Huntsman bowed to the
inevitable six days later. Like Tim Pawlenty, Herman Cain and
Michele Bachmann, he has now quit the fight for the Republican
nomination. That left five main candidates duking it out ahead
of the January 21st primary in South Carolina. They were Mitt
Romney, the deep-pocketed bookie's favourite; Ron Paul, the
libertarian Pied Piper; and three men—Newt Gingrich, Rick
Santorum and the struggling Rick Perry—competing to be the
“authentic” conservative alternative to Mr Romney.  However, Mr
Huntsman did not go quietly. True to form, he departed in
patrician style, scolding his