The president?s envoy to Beijing, former Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. of Utah, a Republican who was in town for Mr. Hu?s visit, was rumored to be considering a run for the boss?s job in 2012. Happening upon Mr. Huntsman in the State Room, Mr. Axelrod confronted him.
?He said, ?I don?t know where this is all coming from,? ? Mr. Axelrod recalled, ? ?It?s way overblown.? ?
When Mr. Axelrod shared that story during an interview last week, Mr. Huntsman was completing plans for an announcement on Tuesday that he indeed intends to run for president.
Mr. Huntsman?s decision prompted a mix of suspicion and resignation among the president?s advisers: suspicion that Mr. Huntsman had not always been straight about his national aspirations, and resignation that, as one presidential strategist put it, ?There?s no loyalty in politics,? especially when it comes to across-the-aisle alliances.
Mr. Huntsman, 51, who resigned as ambassador in late April and declined to comment for this article, is joining the presidential campaign scene as a relative unknown outside Utah. Yet he is among those who are being taken most seriously by Mr. Obama?s aides, who after working with him for more than two years say he could be formidable if ? and they consider this a big ?if? ? he can navigate a nominating contest likely to be decided by voters who may view him as too moderate.
He is a Mormon whose missionary work took him to Taiwan, where he became fluent in Mandarin Chinese. He has benefited from the wealth generated by a family business, the Huntsman Corporation, that is one of the largest chemical companies in the world. He opposes abortion rights and supports same-sex civil unions.
But it is his path from the Utah governor?s mansion to the United States Embassy in Beijing and now to the presidential campaign trail that has gotten him particular attention, representing a rare moment in American history in which a member of a presidential administration turns to run against it.
Mr. Obama?s decision to name Mr. Huntsman his ambassador to China in 2009 was hailed by members of both parties as another act of political wizardry, a chance to show that the president was trying to infuse his administration with a bipartisan spirit.
The president?s aides had by then identified Mr. Huntsman, a rising star of the Republican Party, as a potentially strong opponent in 2012. And Mr. Obama?s team basked in accolades among political strategists for taking Mr. Huntsman out of the mix and packing him off some 7,000 miles away.
Mr. Huntsman?s time in China has indeed created a potential roadblock for his campaign; Mr. Obama has teased him publicly about how his service in the administration will play among the Republican faithful.
But in some ways it has proved to be a help. It has bolstered his position as the only candidate in a field dominated by former governors to have direct foreign policy experience. And it put him in proximity to some of the nation?s leading chief executives ? and potential campaign donors and fund-raisers ? as they sought assistance in doing business with China.
Diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks show meetings with the leading executives from Cisco, Pfizer and Wal-Mart; close contact with the United States Chamber of Commerce; and requests for help from the Las Vegas Sands casino, the chairman of which, Sheldon Adelson, is a major Republican fund-raiser.
On the negative side of the political ledger for Mr. Huntsman, a confidential cable in November 2009 signed by him and sent to Mr. Obama appears to credit the president for ?working with China to manage the worst of the financial crisis? and reads: ?Mr. President, your commitment to building a relationship with China that will allow us together to shape the 21st century has the attention of our country, China, and the world. We are proud to be a part of your team.?