I read Robert Kirby's tongue-in-cheek column "Hey, Ambassador Huntsman, I'll take over your Russian gig."
Putting all jokes aside, I thought Ambassador Jon Huntsman did a very dignified job, sitting on the first row beside first lady Melania Trump as they and a large pool of reporters listened to the recent joint news conference between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump. Although the media and segments of the public went berserk, I saw very little justification.
Pundits utter two words ad nauseam: "collusion" and "meddling". My goodness, everybody acknowledges that Bill Clinton and his now nearly defunct Clinton Foundation "meddled" in the election. The foundation has practically gone moribund since Hillary Clinton lost. I think most readers of The Salt Lake Tribune, myself included, can safely say that no Russian whispered in my ear as to “how to vote” in the 2016 presidential election.
I've met and talked with Ambassador Huntsman, and I'm glad he's our ambassador to Russia. He has a steady hand and is capable. We've come a long way since Sputnik and we should be glad to talk to the "Rooosh-kies," instead of the threatening Khrushchev style of banging shoes on podiums.
James A. Marples, Provo
