With all the talk about Mitt Romney's role as a economic czar in a McCain administration, you've got to wonder where Gov. Jon Huntsman fits in. After all, Huntsman was an early and unwaivering supporter of McCain.

It doesn't bode well that the McCain campaign asked Huntsman to speak today to GOP "grassroots" supporters at a "victory" rally in Farmington, New Mexico. The Utah Guv will be joined by the mayor of the New Mexican metrop that is often compared in size and cultural influence to Farmington, Utah.

Why does this sound pathetic?

Maybe that explains Huntsman's faltering optimism for McCain's chances. At an oil symposim yesterday, the Guv said he hoped the U.S. Interior Department would write the final rules to allow oil shale development to begin. According to the AP report:

President Bush favors the development of oil shale, as a means to remove the country's dependence on foreign oil. But Gov. Huntsman is afraid that the next commander in-chief might not be -- and that any chance for Utah to start exporting oil might soon be lost.

Isn't McCain-Palin the "drill, baby, drill" ticket?