RUBIO RISING? – AT 9:43 A.M. ET:  There has been a marked rise in support for Marco Rubio within the ranks of active Republicans.  He may be the flavor of the month, of course.  (Last month it was Scott Walker), but Rubio's rise could be very real. 

He is an extremely effective public speaker, knowledgeable, and relentless.  He is also Hispanic, a Cuban-American, and this a plus with today's electorate.  From Eliana Johnson, a rising voice in conservative journalism, at National Review: 

Everybody’s talking about Rubio.”

So says a top Republican operative who’s been in touch with nearly every potential presidential campaign, as well as with several top donors.

Jeb Bush’s announcement in December launched both a fundraising juggernaut and an aggressive hiring spree, and Scott Walker’s speech in Iowa the following month lifted Walker to the top of national polls. But a little more than a month later, says the operative, “The Jeb boom is over and people are having second thoughts about Walker.”

The beneficiary in terms of buzz is Marco Rubio, who now has many of the party’s top donors looking at him in a way they weren’t even a month ago. Though Rubio hasn’t made as much noise as his competitors as the 2016 campaign has gotten underway in earnest, his knowledgeable presentations and obvious political talent are nonetheless turning heads or, at least, enough of them. Rubio hasn’t made a big splash, neither building a “shock and awe” campaign like Bush nor delivering a marquee speech like Walker (who afterward seemed almost to be caught off guard by his rapid ascent). Instead, Rubio appears to be gambling on the idea that, in what is sure to be a long primary with a crowded field, a slow-and-steady approach will prevail.

COMMENT:  I agree with that.  I'm a Scott Walker fan, strongly so, but Scott has a bit of a Rick Perry/Sarah Palin problem – not really up on the national issues.  He's a quick learner, though, with a fine record, and I think he can recover some of the loss of momentum he's suffered because of unforced errors – gaffes – when the spotlight turned to him.

But Rubio is polished.  He knows his issues thoroughly.  We'll sense if he's being taken seriously very soon.  Watch for negative articles about him in The New York Times.  If The Times starts to dig up things on Rubio, the way it did when Walker made some noise, we'll know Marco is rising.

I've always liked Rubio, in part because I think he's electable.  He's a candidate of the future, a young, dynamic child of immigrants.  Contrast please with Hillary Clinton, a voice, and a face, from the past.

Rubio's youth will, of course, be used against him.  So was Jack Kennedy's.  In the end, Kennedy overcame it with a dynamic campaign.  Rubio can do the same.

March 14, 2015