Jon Huntsman is not your average presidential candidate. He dropped out of high school to play keyboard in his rock band, Wizard. He’s an avid motorcyclist. He speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese. And he’s a Mormon.

Whether those qualities will work for or against him during his campaign for the 2012 Republican nomination for president remains to be seen. Huntsman officially announced his candidacy in front of the Statue of Liberty on June 21. A few hours later, he landed at Pease International Airport and traveled to Exeter Town Hall for a political rally, where he appealed to voters who will be among the first to cast ballots in the primary.

Flanked by his wife and six of his seven children, two of whom are adopted, Huntsman said he had come up with a campaign motto. “It goes something like this, see if you like it: ‘Live free or die,’” he said to loud applause.

Huntsman’s appearance followed a set of classic rock songs from The Hot Tamales, as well as a video that showed the former Utah governor riding a dirt bike through his home state and described him as “decent, calm, wise, firm and disciplined.” The narrator called Huntsman “the ultimate conservative” and “forever pro-life.”

The video set the tone for Huntsman’s speech, in which he emphasized civility, saying political debates and interactions have become corrosive.

“We will conduct this campaign on the high road. I don’t think you need to run down someone’s reputation in order to run for the presidency,” Huntsman said. “I want you to know I respect my fellow Republican candidates, and I respect the president.”

But Huntsman took a few thinly veiled digs at President Obama, saying America needs “leadership that knows that we need more than hope, leadership that knows that we need some answers.”

The son of a wealthy businessman, he served as a staff assistant in the Reagan administration, ambassador to Singapore under George H. W. Bush, and deputy trade representative under George W. Bush. Huntsman was governor of Utah from 2005 to 2009, then resigned to serve as ambassador to China under Barack Obama.

In Exeter, the 51-year-old candidate touted his experience as a foreign diplomat and as governor of Utah, where he said he cut taxes, balanced the budget, and weathered the recession.

“When the economic crisis hit, we were ready, and by all accounts our state was measured as the best state in America for business,” he said. “We proved government doesn’t have to choose between fiscal responsibility and economic growth.”

Huntsman avoided policy specifics in his speech, instead warning that the nation is headed toward deeper debt that would cripple national security.

“Our country will then fall behind the productive capacity of other countries, our influence in the world will wane, our security will become ever more precarious, and the 21st century will then be known as the end of the American century,” he said. “We cannot accept this and we won’t.”

Huntsman made vague overtures about ending America’s foreign wars, referring to past mistakes without naming them specifically.

“We’re at war, let us not forget, and we must manage the end of these crises without repeating past mistakes that made our engagement longer and our sacrifices greater than they should have been,” he said. “It’s not that we wish to disengage from the world, don’t get me wrong, but rather that we believe the best long-term national security strategy is rebuilding our core right here at home.”

Huntsman spoke to a supportive audience that included his parents and many other friends and family members. Most of his statements were met with hearty approval, although a couple of his talking points seemed indistinct. When he mentioned the need to “reestablish what it means to be a teacher in society,” he received only modest and hesitant applause. He arrived more than an hour late, spoke for about 10 minutes, and did not take questions from the audience.

Huntsman enters a Republican primary field that also includes Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, businessman Herman Cain, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum. Others are likely to enter the race in coming months.