For 2012 Hopeful, Envoy Job in China Was a Useful Detour

As guests including Barbra Streisand and Yo Yo Ma mingled in three resplendent rooms in the White House in January to honor President Hu Jintao of China, David Axelrod, President Obama’s senior strategist, needed to take care of some political housekeeping.

The president’s envoy to Beijing, former Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. of Utah, a Republican who was in town for Mr. Hu’s visit, was rumored to be considering a run for the boss’s job in 2012. Happening upon Mr. Huntsman in the State Room, Mr. Axelrod confronted him.