TAKING IT SERIOUSLY – AT 11:16 A.M. ET:  The appointment of a secretary of state is clearly becoming a major problem for the president-elect.  Each of the leading candidates has important negatives – Mitt Romney's history of vicious anti-Trump remarks, Rudy Giuliani's "tough guy" image and undiplomatic demeanor (despite his record as a great public servant), David Petraeus's legal and personal mistakes, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker's position as a major Republican legislator, something the party doesn't want to give up.   From The Hill: 

President-elect Donald Trump is expanding his search for secretary of State, according to former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway.

“I think there'll be additional interviews with other candidates for secretary of State and other Cabinet positions and deputy...positions as well,” Conway told pool reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower Sunday morning.

On Saturday, The Associated Press reported that former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) is under consideration to be the nation’s top diplomat.

Conway said Trump “continues to talk to different people."

“It is true that he's broadened the search and the secretary of state is an incredibly important position for any president to fill and he has, he's very fortunate, to have interest among serious men and women who, all of whom need to understand that their first responsibility as secretary of State would be to implement and adhere to the president-elect's 'America First' foreign policy, if you will, his view of the world,” she said.

Last week, Trump’s transition team confirmed it had narrowed the field down to four candidates: former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Communications adviser Jason Miller did not say who the other two potential picks were, but retired Gen. David Petraeus and Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) are reportedly being considered for the position.

COMMENT:  Huntsman is a thoughtful, creative man, who was also ambassador to China.  An interesting choice.  We're standing by on this one.

December 4,  2016