Utah governor plans Thanksgiving fact-finding trip to Iraq

Utah governor plans Thanksgiving fact-finding trip to Iraq
PHILADELPHIA - Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. will break his Thanksgiving Day bread with Americans serving in Iraq this year instead of with his family back home, The Salt Lake Tribune has learned.
    Huntsman is once again headed to Iraq today as part of a delegation led by Arizona Sen. John McCain, a Republican running for president. The trip, confirmed by multiple sources in a position to know, will last until the weekend, though details are sparse for security reasons.
    Huntsman and his wife, Mary Kaye, joined McCain on a campaign sweep through New Hampshire this weekend and they celebrated their 24th wedding anniversary on the trail. The trip ended in Philadelphia, where two Huntsman daughters are attending college.
    "It was one of those things that turned out very, very nicely," the governor said.
    His daughter Abby is the chairwoman of the College Republicans at the University of Pennsylvania. She asked her father to encourage McCain to hold a campaign event on the campus. McCain agreed to, participating in a "town hall" style meeting with more than 900 students on Monday.
    Earlier in the day, Huntsman joined McCain at the dedication of an arts wing at a northern Philadelphia charter school that caters to Latino students and he participated in a corporate fundraiser. Huntsman made no public statements at the events. 

Approached before the town hall meeting, Huntsman repeatedly said "no comment" when asked if he was going to Iraq, though he did talk about being on the presidential campaign trail. He said the enthusiasm they experienced in New Hampshire was "rejuvenating" for McCain, who has struggled in the polls largely because of his stand in support of the war in Iraq.
    Huntsman said many of the issues they heard were issues he deals with on the state level, such as health care, climate change, tax policy and education.
    People are "looking for a national-level response,'' he said.
    McCain spent two hours answering student questions, most of which centered on Iraq, the rest of the Middle East and Pakistan. He repeatedly emphasized his military experience in Vietnam, where he was a prisoner of war for five years. McCain also touted his early support for a surge in troops to Iraq, which many claim helped reduce violence.
    Huntsman's wife and daughters were in the audience. They are expected to fly back to Salt Lake City for the holiday, while Huntsman goes to the war-torn region to get his own assessment of the surge.
    The trip is Huntsman's third to Iraq since becoming Utah's governor and his second with McCain, whom he has endorsed for president.
    McCain invited Huntsman on a short trip in March 2006, during which he was unable to meet any military members from Utah. Huntsman returned to Iraq that December as part of a six-day excursion to bases in Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany, meeting with a number of Utahns along the way.
    mcanham@sltrib.com