In his profile of Jon M. Huntsman Jr., who entered the race for the Republican presidential nomination this week, Matt Bai, The New York Times Magazine’s chief political correspondent, answered a lot of questions about the relatively unknown former governor of Utah. He took reader questions this week and we’ve compiled his answers to select questions here.

Q.

Which high school did he attend? Public or private?

— Posted by Frank J. Carnabuci III

A.

An excellent question, Frank, and I did not know the answer, so I did some reporting on your behalf. Turns out Mr. Huntsman attended Palo Alto High School, a public school, before dropping out to pursue his dream of becoming the next Freddie Mercury. He later earned a G.E.D. He went on the University of Utah and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where his father’s name adorns a building.

Q.

Has he made any definitive statements in regards to where he stands on immigration in general … and illegal immigration in specific?

— Posted by RC

A.

I don’t know if he’s made any definitive statements yet, RC, but I have heard him talk informally about the issue, and he says he thinks it’s important for us to help the children of undocumented immigrants assimilate into the country, rather than punishing them for being here. Without divulging conversations I witnessed that were off the record, I can tell you that he is pretty firm on this point, even when challenged by his own supporters.

Q.

Does Mr. Huntsman gain any advantage in the presidential race from his ties to China (or from his distance from China — he wasn’t the most loved U.S. ambassador after his stumble or deliberate step into the molihua [or jasmine] revolution)?

— Posted by Emily

A.

I could see how his experience in China could be a real strength, because it enables him to talk about global competitiveness firsthand, and about how China is preparing itself for the coming decades in ways that we may not be. But as I asked Mr. Huntsman at one point: How do you talk about what China is doing in infrastructure and education without also making the case that the United States needs public investment in order to keep up?

For what it’s worth, this was, in part, his response: “We can only afford large-scale public investment if we get our books balanced and if there’s some national desire to move ahead on something like national infrastructure enhancements, which is exactly what the Chinese have done. They can afford to do it. They have $2.4 trillion in the bank. They earned their money first. They earned it by becoming the most powerful export machine the world has ever known. They didn’t start with infrastructure enhancements.”

Q.

Mr. Huntsman claims to have built jobs, not bought them. What is his role in his “family” chemicals conglomerate?

— Posted by J Fritzsche

A.

He worked there as an executive in between government jobs. Near as I can tell, it’s the only private sector job Mr. Huntsman has ever held, unless you count clearing dishes at Marie Callendar’s. Which raises an interesting point about Mr. Huntsman that I think will arise in the campaign if he gains any traction as a candidate: While he’s clearly been able at many jobs and made the most of his opportunities in life, just about all of those opportunities have stemmed in some way from his family’s wealth and connections.

Q.

Will the evangelicals in the Republican Party-base shy away from Mr. Huntsman because of his religious faith? Will the party elders (Rove et al.) shy away from him because of his potential lack of support from the evangelicals? What backroom dealing is going on right now to try and sew the two groups together to be unified?

— Posted by Randy M

A.

Good question, Randy, and I think this would be a bigger issue if Mr. Huntsman were the only Mormon in the race. But since the presumed front-runner, Mitt Romney, is also Mormon and has run before, it seems to me a minor consideration. Mr. Huntsman will surely not attract a lot of evangelical followers, but that’s much more likely to be because he supports civil unions for gay couples than because of his faith.

Q.

Does he still stand by his speech at the 2008 G.O.P. convention introducing and endorsing Sarah Palin for V.P. of the United States of America? Would he consider Sarah Palin to be his running mate? Why or why not?

— Posted by Cowboy

A.

I wish I’d asked him that question. I didn’t.

Q.

Will the fact that Mr. Huntsman worked for President Obama make him intolerable to the Tea Party?

— Posted by Mark L.

A.

Probably, yes.

Q.

As a progressive who volunteered time and money for Obama’s campaign last time around, it’s unlikely that in the end my vote could be swayed in 2012. However, I was intrigued a few months ago to read about Mr. Huntsman’s intention to be very careful about the campaign donations he accepts. I don’t remember the details, but the purported intent was to avoid corporate donors, etc. Is he still intending to do this, and how significant of a step do you think it would be?

— Posted by Sally L

A.

I didn’t hear him say anything about corporate donors, Sally, and I’d be surprised if he can afford to be very discerning that way. I did ask him about self-financing his campaign, and he flatly said he wouldn’t and couldn’t do that—wouldn’t because he thinks a viable candidate needs to be able to attract investors, and couldn’t because he just isn’t wealthy enough. (Mr. Huntsman’s father has said he intends to give all his billion-plus dollars away to charity.) I suggested he sell his motorcycles. He declined.

Q.

Matt, I just don’t get this candidacy. There’s another Mormon with strong Utah ties in the race, and Mr. Huntsman is basically . . . to the left of him. Exactly what constituency, other than Penn graduates, does he hope to appeal to? Or is he simply hoping that Mr. Romney will crash (see Romney, George, 1968) and pick up the pieces?

— Posted by michael a. livingston

A.

I think, Michael, that Mr. Huntsman is betting a lot on authenticity, as he told me in the piece. Mr. Romney has worked hard to win over conservative activists and disavow his more moderate record in Massachusetts. Mr. Huntsman isn’t above changing a few positions either (he has, for instance, abandoned his onetime support for cap-and-trade), but he’s going to present himself as a guy who doesn’t tell you whatever you want to hear and who stays constant in his beliefs.

Q.

Because of his relations with China, do you think American relations with China will increase and strengthen if he becomes president?

— Posted by Jason

A.

I think China would become a very central focus for a President Huntsman, if such a thing were ever to come to pass. He’s clearly obsessed with the place and always has been. His eyes light up whenever he so much as sees a Chinese speaker.

Q.

What kind of beer does he drink? It’s important.

— Posted by RC

A.

And if he’d invited me out for a beer, I’d know. In five days with Mr. Huntsman, I never personally witnessed him eating or drinking. Maybe he’s a droid.

Q.

Does he believe in God? And, if so, why?

— Posted by TedS

A.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that he does believe in God. I thought it was interesting that at one point, when we were discussing what it was like to campaign in New Hampshire, Mr. Huntsman described it as “the quintessential end of the refiner’s fire.” That’s a Biblical reference that’s popular in the Mormon faith, and what it said to me is that he’s pretty comfortable with his religious grounding.

Q.

Do you think Mr. Huntsman will even run that hard this election cycle? It seems to me his primary gambit is still to establish a name, network, cachet and other assets for 2016. If Mr. Romney or another Republican loses to Obama in 2012 (as I suspect will be the case given the multimonth trend of a slightly improving economy, the incumbent’s natural advantage, the killing of Bin Laden and other Obama strengths), then Republicans could relatively quickly cohere around a single candidate in 2016 á la Dole, Bush and McCain with the singular aim of retaking the White House. Mr. Huntsman should be extremely well positioned in 2016 should that happen.

— Posted by SU

A.

This is, in fact, a very popular theory of Mr. Huntsman’s motives, and I address it in the piece. But I have to tell you that, in my experience, it’s just not in the nature of most serious politicians to run for any office — including the presidency — expecting to lose. I don’t doubt that 2016 is in the back of Mr. Huntsman’s mind, but I’m pretty sure this campaign isn’t some clever ploy to set himself up for later. He has convinced himself he can win now.

Q.

Do you think Florida will be his firewall, much like Rudy planned on. Or does he have a good shot down there, with it being [his wife] Mary Kaye’s home state, and his nat’l headquarters in Orlando?

— Posted by Rodger

A.

My guess is that if Mr. Huntsman could somehow win or at least run strong in New Hampshire and South Carolina, then he would be competitive in Florida. But I doubt you could get to Florida with no momentum and view it as a firewall. You have to break out in an earlier state, I would think, which is why Mr. Giuliani’s strategy failed.