@PatriciaMazzei
Crown a new prince! Marco Rubio, dragon slayer, badly wounded his chief rival, Jeb Bush, a member of Republican royalty, leaving him limping in the battlefield of presidential politics.
This was the conclusion that emerged from the latest Republican primary debate Wednesday night.
The Florida senator deserved the praise for his unquestionable polish. The headlines for Bush, the former Florida governor, were terrible. His campaign is “not on life support,” Bush maintained to reporters Thursday in New Hampshire. Ouch.
Rubio, in contrast, basked in a marathon set of morning-after TV interviews. His campaign asked elated donors for more money. He was an uncontested winner.
But Rubio, for all his poise, didn’t fully answer one of the key questions he didn’t like Wednesday night. And he deflected another one entirely, relying instead on his tried-and-true personal American Dream story to avoid mustering a direct response.
Asked why he doesn’t resign from the U.S. Senate he dislikes so much, Rubio pivoted to past presidential candidates who also missed lots of votes. Asked if his poor handling of personal finances disqualifies him from running the federal government, Rubio instead told the heart-tugging story of his parents’ humble beginnings.
Both were deft responses and trademark Rubio. But they might get more difficult for him to deliver them as his star in the presidential race rises — even if his incomplete answers don’t ultimately hurt him in the theater of politics.
More here.
Photo credit: Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press
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