Quotable quote of the day ... month ... 2013 ... 2016:
Mr. Rubio is a rising star, to such an extent that Time magazine put him on its cover, calling him "The Republican Savior." What we learned Tuesday, however, was that zombie economic ideas have eaten his brain.
We also learned that to describe the career of a rising star as "meteoric" can indeed be abundantly apt, in that Rubio went down like a screaming fireball of dense rock.
Oh was that him flaming out over Chelyabinsk?
Posted by: Peter G | February 15, 2013 at 10:47 AM
I once moved from one company to another after a long stay. A former part-owner of my old company was at the new company. He had been run off from the old company because of gross incompetence, possible crimes and general goofinesss.
About five years later he was made CEO of the new company. My in box exploded with e-mail from about 50 former associates asking if I could verify (preferably with a sworn affidavit) that this actually true.
I responded to them in one e-mail as a means of verifying that I was not pulling their leg that, yes this old, well-estblished company had promoted him to CEO.
I ended with, "The scary thing is that he was probably the qualified person available."
In that spirit, I maintain Rubio is still a viable GOP presidential candidate and therefore has a reasonable chance of procuring a minimum of 45% of the vote.
He might be the most qualified person available to them.
Don't believe me?
Click here.
http://www.oddschecker.com/politics-and-election/us-presidential-election-2016/winner
Posted by: Robert Lipscomb | February 15, 2013 at 11:23 AM
"Rubio went down like a screaming fireball of dense rock ... "
Which makes him better than ever! Because (if I may mix metaphors) "America loves the underdog."
He's already working on his comeback.
Posted by: priscianus jr | February 15, 2013 at 11:38 AM
priscianus jr, Rubio is not an underdog, just a dog who has been fluffed for the Westminster Dog Show. Here's a Hispanic that opposed the Dream Act, gave support to the AZ. "Papers Please" atrocity and as a Cuban-American represents a group that has special immigration privileges.
He holds extreme right wing views that are well documented in his own voice.What chance do you think he has over a Hillary Clinton?
Posted by: pamelabrown53 | February 15, 2013 at 12:36 PM
Securing 45% of the vote is a pretty low qualifying mark. Romney got 47% and he was easily one of the worst candidates I have ever seen.
To get to 51% will either require a Reagan/Obama level candidate to rise in the GOP over the next 4 years (Christie!? Please.) or for the Democrats to nominate an equally incompetent candidate.
At this point I would say the latter is the only likely scenario to give the GOP any hope. Which, as hope goes, is not a great foundation.
Posted by: Chris Andersen | February 15, 2013 at 01:03 PM
@Chris Anderson: I am not suggesting Rubio will win, much less beat Hillary.
I am saying that if the GOP nominates the naked schitzophrentic preaching on the corner waving a pistol (a not all together unimagineable event), he would get 45% of the vote. No matter how badly we think Rubio did Tuesday night, the betting houses have him as the early leader for the GOP nomination. If he does, he can probably book 45% which would be a close to a landslide.
Of course, if he runs against Hillary every percentage point above 40% will be tough which is why I am predicting an honest-to-God landslide in that eventuality.
Posted by: Robert Lipscomb | February 15, 2013 at 02:00 PM
What's a schitzophrentic, and where can I get one? A naked schitzophrentic waving a pistol might look great in my live-action sculpture garden.
Posted by: Jim Milstein | February 16, 2013 at 10:53 AM