Alex Roarty praises Jon Huntsman for his performance in Wednesday night's GOP presidential debate, saying he "was the only candidate on stage able to go toe-to-toe with front-runners Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, trading blows with the two heavyweights not as an underdog but as their equal."

It took all of one question for Huntsman to erase doubts he wasn’t ready for his big moment. He blasted his chief opponent before pivoting to highlight his own background in business, as governor, and diplomat.

“To my good friend, Mitt, 47 just ain't going to cut it, my friend, not when you can be first,” said Huntsman. The number refers to what some commentators have said was Massachusetts' ranking among the states for job creation during the four years Romney served as governor. Sounding confident and quickly dispelling concerns that a sinus infection had robbed him of his voice, Huntsman touted his own resume as the better of the two.

“We've got to remember that to beat President Obama, we have to have somebody who's been in the private sector, understands the fragility of the free market system, has been a successful governor as it relates to job creation, and knows something about this world,” said Huntsman, who worked for his father's chemical conglomerate before serving two terms as Utah's governor.

(See also related Washington Post and New York Times stories.)