Tonight I had the privilege of listening to former Governor of Utah and former US Ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman, speak on key problems in American politics and the importance of China in the 21^st century.

(A special shout-out to my friend Kirsty Brown for thinking of me when the tickets became available.)

Huntsman is smart and engaging, a strong communicator with a great sense of self-deprecating humor. He has practical ideas about how to change things, a very common sense approach, and he shows few signs of the strict adherence to ideology (above all else) which can so hamper effective leadership.

No, I’m not in love with the man but I couldn’t help but think that America missed a significant opportunity to have a strong, effective leader in the White House, thanks in large part to the mess that is the Republican Party primary process.

Regarding the problems of American politics, every topic he touched on resonated with me and many members of the audience: the need for finance reform, independent redistricting councils in all 50 states and term limits for Congress (which drew strong applause). He spoke about the importance of re-engaging the youth of the nation in the political process and bemoaned the unfortunate importance of primary elections in our political system, a problem which essentially derailed his run for the presidency in 2012.

Answering questions after the lecture, he stated his belief that the development of a third-party was inevitable, despite the roadblocks, given the rising numbers of unaffiliated voters. And he expressed a positive view of the move in some states towards direct primaries and away from the problematic convention delegate system.

On China, he was knowledgeable and enlightening, highlighting the reform efforts of Xi Jinping (pronounced She Jinping), the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and what to expect over the next few years. These efforts include China’s debt issues (apparently America is not alone on debt), fiscal reforms, urbanization and state-owned enterprise reform. Huntsman also spoke about how the Chinese people are now driving their government to implement anti-corruption campaigns and air quality measures. He also discussed the pressures faced by Chinese officials from their neighbors in east Asia and the uniquely personal nature of some of the existing rivalries.

In response to another audience question, Huntsman provided interesting insights on how China views Putin and his annexation of the Crimea. He noted the limited options America has in dealing with Putin in the short-term. For the long-term, Huntsman suggested that only a replacement of Russian energy exports with alternative American energy exports would hit Putin where it hurts.

The final question of the evening referenced his run for President in 2012 and asked if he would consider running again. “Been there, done that,” he said at first, and then ended with a hopeful “We’ll see.”

I sincerely hope he does but in a way that will give him a greater chance of making it to the general election where his appeal to massive audiences would seem to be nearly guaranteed.