Can Rubio Live Up to the Hype?

Beth Reinhard: “No matter that he’s only punched up the old
script, swung back and forth on immigration policy, and never shepherded
major legislation through Congress. What Rubio brings is the star
power, adoring fan base, and command of the national media unmatched
these days by anyone in Washington outside of the Oval Office. It’s the
same aggressive product placement that has made the 41-year-old a
top-tier presidential contender just two years after his swearing-in.
Rubio is the GOP’s Barack Obama, minus the intellectual heft intimated
by two Ivy League degrees and a law-school faculty post. A Generation
X-er with a name that sounds like change. The author of an American
Dream-laced memoir that, audiences are frequently reminded, helped pay
off his student loans. A former state lawmaker and a Senate short-timer
with a thin binder of achievements but perhaps blessed with the greatest
rhetorical gifts in politics today.”