Huntsman out of the race, endorses Romney

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman went before the cameras in South Carolina this morning and formally pulled out of the race for president. He called on the remaining Republican candidates to clean up their acts, and included President Obama in his criticism. “This race has degenerated into an onslaught of negative and personal attacks not worthy of the American people and not worthy of this critical time in our nation’s history,” Huntsman said. He called Mitt Romney the candidate best able to unite Republicans and defeat Obama, "despite our differences and the space between us on some issues." NYT, Politico, National Journal

Campaign 2012 note: Chris Hedges in Truthdig on why he's suing President Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta "to challenge the legality of the Authorization for Use of Military Force as embedded in the latest version of the National Defense Authorization Act, signed by the president Dec. 31."