Huntsman is probably too liberal to be acceptable to the extreme right of the GOP, and what's worse, Huntsman is a Morman, which is even worse for the religious right.
But in terms of the general election of 11/2012, and IMHO, Huntsman may now be the only remaining GOP candidate that can appeal to conservative democrats and independents and hence be electable. The same cannot be said of Mitt Romney, who blew all of credibility by becoming the born again incredible plastic man in 2008. In terms of Romney, the GOP can't trust a flip flopper and either can independents.
And now that the eyes of nation turn to to New Hampshire this coming Tuesday, Huntsman may get around 10% of the votes, and probably will get more votes than Santorum.
The right wing of the GOP may make the most noise and inspire the GOP leadership. But the vast bulk of GOP voting electorate is far more centrists than extreme right wing. And when voting numbers are the only thing that matter in political primaries, it explains why McCain won the GOP primary in 2008. While all the extreme right wing 2008 GOP candidates crashed and burned fairly early in the primary season.
In New Hampshire Mitt is expected to get 43% of the Votes, leaving everyone behind in the dust. And if the GOP wakes up early and majority says, anyone other than Mitt, Huntsman may start to look better.