Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman has been getting flak the past few days for saying that Rep. Michele Bachmann "makes for good copy—and good photography."
Huntsman made the remark in a New York Magazine cover story on the former Utah governor. As he defended himself, Huntsman said that he also called Bachmann a strong, legitimate candidate, prompting the New York reporter, John Heilemann, to publish the transcript of Huntsman's Bachmann comments.
It turns out that Huntsman shared more about the Minnesota Republican than just his thoughts on how photogenic she is.
"I think it's impossible for her to get the nomination," Huntsman said. "I don't think she's gonna be able to bring the numbers together within the Republican tent to get the nomination. She's off in one corner of the party."
Huntsman said that Bachmann should be taken seriously as an elected official, but he added that her attacks made it hard for Bachmann to appeal to the whole Republican party.
"Everybody gets to speak their mind and approach it from whatever angle of attack, and she's chosen her own angle of attack," he said. "I don't think it's saleable in the end. It will certainly light up and ignite a corner of the Republican party, but not enough to do what needs to be done to win the nomination."
Read the full transcript here.
