Rubiomania may last a while
by digby
538 splashes cold water on Rubio's "surge" but offers some hopeful news for the hot Cuban-American hopeful's long term prospects:
What makes Rubio strong isn’t his polling surge, but that he is well-liked across the party apparatus. He pulls in conservatives with his voting record and moderates with his impressive 2010 Senate victory in Florida, a crucial battleground state.
This is all evident in non-horse-race polling. Rubio’s net favorability rating among Republicans is near the top of the field. The gap between Republicans who could see themselves voting for Rubio and those who couldn’t is among the field’s best, according to an average of CBS News surveys conducted this year
I have been saying for months that Rubio is the guy who makes the most sense for the GOP. Of course, I could be wrong. It's based entirely on seat-of-the-pants intuition and very general observation of the political field. But I haven't changed my mind yet.
I don't know that he can win --- it's early days. But if I were a Republican strategist I'd tell the big money boys that he's the guy who looks like the best bet to beat Clinton. On paper at least. (I'd also tell Rubio to lose the smirk --- it worked for W but it's probably not a good idea to remind people of him.)
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