Given the media's short attention span, it's not surprising that Jon Huntsman is getting quite a bit of attention today after a successful speech in South Carolina.  But, that attention does contain some interesting speculation about whether Huntsman could win the GOP nomination.

While he's still decidedly a long-shot, NPR says Huntsman does have some positivies going for him.

Of all the Republicans thought of as potential 2012 presidential candidates, Huntsman is the only one with foreign policy credentials, thanks to Obama naming him to be U.S. ambassador to China.

Since it's thought the election will turn on domestic affairs, especially the economy, that may not prove as important as it might have in other presidential election cycles.

Meanwhile, the very thing that could hurt Huntsman with the GOP activists whose support could be crucial to winning the early primaries and caucuses — his role in the Obama Administration — could help Huntsman in a general election if he could get that far. Many independent voters like politicians willing to work across party lines.