President Obama’s ambassador to China, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, a Republican, has sent in his letter of resignation and now reportedly plans to run for the GOP presidential nomination against Obama in 2012.

He shouldn’t have bothered. Politico has already come up with some of the “opposition research” his GOP foes are certain to use against him in the primary.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s transportation secretary, ambassador to China or federal pork rind inspector—if you accept a political appointment to serve under a president of the opposing party, your political career is over. It’s not like Norm Mineta, as inconsequential as he was as Bush 43’s secretary of transportation is back running for public office.

Huntsman must have serious delusions of grandeur if he thinks he’s got a chance—you know it’s got to be him, because no serious political adviser would give this maneuver a snowball’s chance in hell of succeeding.