RUBIO TO RUN? – AT 9:49 A.M. ET:  Despite all his activity, Florida's Marco Rubio has not formally entered the 2016 race for president.  That may be about to change.  From AP: 

PALM BEACH, FLA. — Marco Rubio isn't quite ready to say he's running for president, yet admits it sure does look like he will seek the White House in 2016.

"I think that's reflected in both our travel and some of the staffing decisions that we've made," the Florida senator told The Associated Press. "We — if in fact I make that final decision on a run — want those elements to be in place."

The message that his decision is still pending is one Rubio delivered again this past week on stage, both at the Conservative Public Action Conference outside Washington and at the conservative Club For Growth in Palm Beach. But allies of the first-term senator and former speaker of the Florida House who have spoken with him about his plans fully expect that he will run for president, rather than a second Senate term.

He's made it clear he would leave the Senate if he got into the presidential race.  It's a tough decision for him for he's far from the favorite for the presidential nomination. 

"I assume he's running," said Wayne Berman, a veteran Republican fundraiser who was chairman of Sen. John McCain's presidential fundraising in 2008. "He will help the party turn the page, politically, to the next generation."

Nearly a dozen people close to Rubio, including GOP officials, fundraisers and his advisers, say Rubio has told them he is in the final stages of planning the launch of his presidential run and will formally join the crowded field of Republican hopefuls as early as April. All spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss their private conversations with Rubio.

Berman said he is working to line up donors to finance that national campaign. Among the donors who have signed on: former Rep. Bill Paxon, now with law firm Aiken Gump's Washington offices, Dallas investor George Seay and Goldman Sachs' Joe Wall. Their goal is to raise $50 million before next year's Iowa caucuses, according to four donors who have spoken to Rubio about the likely campaign's budget.

"Marco's best asset is Marco," said Scott Weaver, a former Capitol Hill staffer who organized a recent dinner for potential Rubio donors. "If you can get Marco in front of people, he sells himself. It's been an easier sales process than we thought at this point."

COMMENT:  That last statement is true.  Rubio is a great campaigner.  He's also Cuban-American, which, political writers assume, will attract Hispanic voters.  His problems at this point are to become better known, and to convince Republicans that he has the weight to be president.

The hot candidate at the moment is Scott Walker, who is relentless.  But Walker has made some gaffes, and some doubt that the brilliantly successful governor of Wisconsin is ready for a national campaign, where every sentence will be scrutinized.  Another obstacle is Jeb Bush, who was Rubio's mentor in Florida politics.  Bush may be offended by Rubio's entering the race, and could do some damage.

I hope Rubio gets in.  He is solid on foreign policy, and 2016 may turn out to be a foreign-policy election.

March 2, 2015