When Jon Huntsman entered the room at Thursday's Politics and Eggs breakfast at St. Anselm College, he didn't take a beeline to his seat, nor did he head directly to the stage where he was set to speak.

Instead, he toured the large function room, stopping at each table and taking the time to shake the hand of each of the hundreds of potential voters in attendance. With his wife, Mary Kaye, often at his side, the scene was reminiscent of a bride and groom thanking guests at a wedding reception.

When he finished, he sat down and began signing dozens of wooden eggs -- a tradition that has become a staple among candidates speaking at Politics and Eggs breakfasts.

Finally, when he seemed comfortable that each and every person in attendance had been sufficiently recognized, he took the stage.

"I might not have the Texas Rangers here," said Huntsman. "I might not have a large entourage, but I did bring a secret weapon that nobody else has, and that's the finest human being I've ever known over 28 years, my wife Mary Kaye Huntsman."

Huntsman, of course, was throwing a barb in the direction of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who recently entered the race and surged to the top of the most recent Gallup Poll.

"That wasn't much of a swipe," he said when asked about the comment after the event. "Rick's a friend. I didn't agree with what he said about the Federal Reserve chairman. That was a little bit inappropriate and out there."

Huntsman was referring to comments Perry directed toward Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in August.

“If this guy prints more money between now and the election, I dunno what y’all would do to him in Iowa, but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas,” Perry was quoted as saying by multiple news outlets. “Printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost treacherous, or treasonous, in my opinion.”

Huntsman refused to criticize Perry or any of his other opponents further, however.

His speech, after all, painted his vision for America's future, preaching bipartisanship while veering away from the finger-pointing that has become common ground among many of his GOP competitors.

He also touched on the jobs plan he revealed yesterday in Hudson and focused on his successes and experience as both Utah governor and U.S. Ambassador to China.

"I thought he was a very knowledgeable candidate. He's very presidential," said St. Anselm sophomore Zach Gregoric. "He seems very fitting for the position he's applying for."

Prior to leaving, Huntsman took a couple minutes to speak with Henniker resident Stephanie Lesperance. The conversation ended with a hug.

"My husband and I are adopting a baby girl ... so it wasn't as exciting as political discussion, but he was very sweet," said Lesperance.

Huntsman is the father of seven children, one of whom he and his wife adopted from China, and another they adopted from India. "I thought he was very supportive, and I actually thought his comments were really interesting and I like how he talked about working together and taking into consideration what the other side wants."

For more on Huntsman, and a video of local reaction, click here.