Jon Huntsman Drops Out Of Presidential Race

Former Obama ambassador failed to pick up momentum in race.
By Gil Kaufman


John Huntsman speaks during the 2012 New Hampshire primary
Photo: Getty Images

After a series of disappointing finishes and a failure to emerge from the pack, former Utah governor Jon Huntsman announced his withdrawal from the 2012 presidential race on Monday (January 16). Huntsman threw his support behind leading candidate Mitt Romney in a bid to unite a Republican party that is sorely divided over which candidate will take on President Obama in November.

"Our campaign for the presidency ends, but our campaign for a (better) American continues," Huntsman said during an official announcement in South Carolina during which he made a plea to the remaining candidates to stop launching attack ads on each other because "the current toxic form of our political discourse does not help our cause."

Huntsman served as ambassador to China in the Obama administration and was the sole voice of moderation amid a pack of White House contenders that have done their utmost to highlight their conservative bona fides. After skipping campaigning in Iowa
to focus all his energies on last week's New Hampshire primary, he came in a distant third to Romney and Ron Paul.

And though he put on a brave face and said his #3 finish in New Hampshire was a "ticket to ride" to the next contest in South Carolina on January 21, the reality of his anemic support base appears to have become clear to the man whose bid was launched on the promise of bringing civility back to the process. Almost from the start, Huntsman was unable to win over a Republican voting base that looked at his service in the current Democrat administration with scorn and blanched at his support on some social issues, including civil unions for gay couples.

In a campaign that struggled to pull polling numbers out of the single digits for most of the past year, one of the bright spots for Huntsman was the media embrace of his music-loving daughters'
 social-networking prowess. Sisters Mary Anne, 26, Abby, 25, and Liddy, 24, helped focus some attention on their dad's often-overlooked campaign with their irreverent viral videos and tweets..

Speaking to MTV's Power of 12 last week in New Hampshire, the Huntsman trio said the grueling campaign was a "family affair"
that they were really enjoying. "We call it a roller coaster: You never know which way the car is going to go," said Abby on the eve of the Granite State contest when it looked like her dad's poll numbers were finally inching up into the solid double digits.

"We think [social media] is crucially important for this election cycle, especially for our younger generation, so we've kind of run with it," added Liddy, referring to such now-infamous bits as a YouTube send-up of former candidate Herman Cain's "smoking" commercial and a Justin Timberlake remake promoting their dad. Despite his pledge to endorse Romney, just last week Huntsman referred to the former Massachusetts governor as "unelectable."

With Huntsman — who, like Romney, was vying to be the nation's first Mormon president — out of the race, leading candidate Romney is now facing off against Paul, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, former House speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the presidential election season.

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U2, Taylor Swift Top List Of 2011's Highest-Grossing Tours

U2's 360 Tour is the year's most profitable in the U.S. and worldwide.
By James Montgomery


U2's Bono
Photo: Harry Herd/ Getty Images

<P>U2 didn't even release an album in 2011, but that didn't stop them from raking in plenty of cash. The iconic Irish quartet topped Pollstar's list of the year's most profitable tours, as their massive 360 Tour moved an impressive 2.4 million tickets worldwide, grossing more than $230 million globally. Their North American dates &#8212; which were postponed (and subsequently rescheduled) last year as Bono recovered from back surgery &#8212; made $156 million, good enough to give them the highest-grossing tour on this continent, too. </p><div class="player-placeholder right" id="vid:600842.id:1653089" width="240" height="211"></div><p> Taylor Swift had 2011's second most-profitable North American tour, as her expansive Speak Now jaunt racked up $97.7 million at the box office. Swift's country contemporary Kenny Chesney came in at #3, bringing in nearly $85 million in ticket sales, followed by Lady Gaga, who, despite wrapping up the North American leg of her Monster Ball Tour in April, still managed to bring in $63.7 million at the box office. Bon Jovi rounds out Pollstar's top five, grossing more than $57 million. Kanye West and Jay-Z's Throne tour ($48 million), Lil Wayne's "I Am Still Music" trek ($44 million), Britney Spears ($38 million) and Katy Perry ($28 million) also made the Top 25 in North America. British boy band Take That's reunion tour came in second to U2's 360 trek based on worldwide receipts, making $224 million. Bon Jovi grossed nearly $150 million worldwide, good enough for third, with tours by Swift ($104 million worldwide) and Roger Waters ($103 million) rounding out the top five. Also making Pollstar's worldwide list were Rihanna, the Foo Fighters, Justin Bieber, Usher and the Kings of Leon. <i>Did you attend any of the highest-grossing tours in 2011? Let us know in the comments!</i></p>

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Brad and Angelina Bring Their Sexy Glamour to the Globes Red Carpet

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie arrived hand in hand at the Golden Globes in LA tonight. Brad chose a classic black tuxedo and had his cane in hand while Angelina wowed in a fitted Atelier Versace gown with a touch of red and Lorraine Schwartz earrings. Both Brad and Angelina are nominated this year with Brad up for best actor for his work in Moneyball, which is also up for best picture, and Angelina's In the Land of Blood and Honey is in the running for best foreign language film.


It's been a busy week for the couple, with multiple appearances including Angelina's Washington DC premiere, a stop by the White House, and the New York Film Critics Circle Awards. Brad popped up at the Critics' Choice Awards, where Moneyball was recognized for best adapted screenplay. Angelina didn't join him though, since she was busy hosting an online chat about her directorial debut.

There are so many stars on the red carpet, so make sure to vote on all of Bella and Fab's beauty and fashion polls!

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Casey Anthony -- More Photos Posted via Twitter

A new series of Casey Anthony photos -- posted on Twitter by the same person who posted the previous pics -- surfaced online last night ... featuring the dog Casey said she adopted in an earlier video. Casey still has the same short blonde hair…

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Casey Anthony -- More Photos Posted via Twitter

Source: http://www.tmz.com/2012/01/15/casey-anthony-photos-twitter/

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