Former Utah Gov. (and recently former U.S. Ambassador to China) Jon Huntsman will soon officially announce his candidacy for the Repub presidential nomination, but he is already running.

Huntsman is smart, handsome, rich and has an impressive resume that stretches from domestic to international issues. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and wears a calm, reasonable demeanor. He is very conservative but deviates, or has deviated, from Republican orthodoxy in several areas from civil unions for gay couples to carbon taxes. I’ve been wondering how big a splash he will make in the race.

Stu Rothenberg previews the coming candidacy in a piece today that, like most things Rothenberg writes, is smart but completely devoid of any hint of value judgment on the substance of any policy or issue position. It struck me as a near-perfect example of a professional observer sizing up the pros and cons of a candidate in 100 percent political terms, like a racetrack handicapper who cares about everything that might indicate which horse will win the race but nothing that doesn’t reflect on that question. In the case of the political horserace, that includes money, staff, candidate skills, and everything (known) that the candidate has said or done that will potentially be used against him.

Huntsman is a Mormon, and that will hurt him with some evangelicals, Rothenberg says. Huntsman worked for Obama said has said nice things about him. Huntsman gave a nominating speech for veep pick Sarah Palin ’08 and he didn’t look good doing it. Huntsman’s media guy is well-regarded but some believe his ads (including the famous Christine O’Donnell “I am not a witch” spot) can be more arty or attention-grabbing than effective. Etc.

Halfway through, Rothenberg summarizes what I take to be his current bottom line:

“But Huntsman’s list of weaknesses and vulnerabilities is even longer than that of his strengths and assets.”