With the Statue of Liberty behind him, Jon Huntsman announced his candidacy for president today. His speech set the tone for a respectful race, saying that he and President Obama have "a difference of opinion" about how to run this country, although he did refer to himself as the "ultimate conservative," which I'm sure had Rick Santorum fairly peeing his pants in outrage. (If you don't know much about Jon Huntsman, I'd like to gently nudge you in the direction of my candidate primer.)

Meanwhile, ThinkProgress would like you to know that Huntsman isn't as good on gay issues as Huntsman's fundraising literature has been saying:

The letter, written by California Log Cabin Republicans Vice Chairman and Huntsman campaign employee Charles T. Moran, states plainly that Huntsman “signed into law Utah’s first Civil Unions legislation” — a simplistic declaration that could easily mislead voters into believing Huntsman actually signed legislation to legalize civil unions in Utah...In 2008, Huntsman signed legislation expanding domestic partner benefits for Utah’s unmarried couples, including gays. But legislation legalizing civil unions never passed, making it impossible for Huntsman to sign it into law. And while he supported expanding hospital visitation rights and other “contractual” rights for gay couples, most of those initiatives died in the state Legislature.

This leftward-leaning strategy is interesting, and it's going to get a lot of moderate Republicans excited for the guy, but it's important to keep his real achievements in mind.