President Obama announced his choice for Ambassador to China today: Jon Huntsman, Utah's Republican Governor. This apparent sign of bi-partisanship could also be a strategic move on the Democratic President's part.

David Plouffe, Obama's 2008 campaign manager, said the moderate GOP governor is "the one person in that party who might be a potential presidential candidate... he seems to understand the party has to adjust - not stubbornly believe that everything is OK and it is the country that has to adjust."

Huntsman, who is considered a moderate, will be making a return to the diplomatic realm after serving as Ambassador to Singapore under Bush 41. The governor speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and has an adopted daughter from China. With China continuing to emerge as a world leader, this is a great opportunity; it's probably the most significant ambassadorship for the US.

Whether this helps or hurts any potential presidential run for Huntsman remains to be seen. What's clear, though, is that he's out of the picture at least for a while.

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