Huntsman praised New Hampshire's Jan. 10 primary, the first in the nation, which counts votes from those not registered as members of either party. Huntsman said he hopes doing well in New Hampshire can solidify his position as a viable Republican candidate.
"You gotta turn out, you gotta participate, you gotta change the direction of this country," Huntsman said. "It's in your hands."
Huntsman said that health care policy the advertised theme of his talk needs reform to cover uninsured people, better organize medical records and lower costs.
"I'm still perplexed by some of the big issues of health care," he said, but he added that he believes there are two possible avenues for change. "You can do a mandate, or you can expand the free market."
Huntsman who only discussed President Barack Obama's health care plan when asked about it directly by an audience member said that though the Supreme Court has yet to rule on its constitutionality, reform would be better served by promoting more marketplace competition in order to lower costs.
"I'm not going to stand up and shout, Abolish Obamacare,'" he said. "I'm not into that kind of politicking."
Huntsman also discussed the general goals of his candidacy, his hopes for the country and his positions on specific policies.
"I'm not happy with the country we're about to hand down to the next generation," he said, noting that he himself has seven children. "We need to begin thinking about being Americans, coming together as people and finding the big solutions of our time."
Huntsman said he would work to solve two types of deficits.
"One is an economic deficit," he said. "It's called $15 trillion in debt."
To solve this, he recommended a reformed tax code, better job training plans and more community colleges. Ending the era of banks that are "too big to fail" would also help rebuild the country, he said.
If former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., were elected, his ties to the financial industry would lead to "a status quo outcome" instead of reform, Huntsman said.
"We need a president who's gonna take on the banking sector," he said.
Huntsman also described his plans for eliminating "a trust deficit," citing Congress' low approval rating. Each newly-elected president has approximately a year and a half in which to take action and pass legislation, according to Huntsman.
The current partisan gridlock on Capitol Hill is related to Obama's deficiencies as president, he said.
"He's a good man, but there's no leadership on Capitol Hill today," he said. "I think coming together is going to take some unique leadership."
Huntsman who served under Obama as U.S. Ambassador to China also discussed his views on foreign policy, saying the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have gone on for too long.
"I say it's time to come home," he said. "We can't project those values of liberty, freedom, human rights and free markets when we are weak at home."
Audience members interviewed by The Dartmouth said they appreciated Huntsman's talk, but called for details rather than the broad overviews they said he provided.
While the talk was only open to DHMC affiliates and the media, Huntsman spent the majority discussing issues other than health care. Most audience members' questions following the talk related to health care policy.
"I think he has a lot of good points, and he's a nice guy, but I'd like to have him articulate more," said Carol Moriarty, a clinical research coordinator at DHMC. "We need more examples."
In an interview with The Dartmouth, Huntsman asked Dartmouth students voting in the New Hampshire primary to research the issues most important to them, as well as each candidate's position on these issues.
In the talk, Huntsman discussed a need for more youth participation in elections in his home state of Utah.
"Take this election seriously because it is 100 percent about your future," he said in the interview. "To do otherwise would be unpatriotic."
