Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) “may be slipping down the shortlist of potential Mitt Romney running mates,” Politico reports, but the vice presidential buzz surrounding him “has helped put his new memoir on The New York Times‘s best-seller list, creating a windfall that could potentially wipe out the senator’s personal debt. Coffers for his campaign committee and leadership PAC also have become flush with cash in recent months — he’s seen a 50 percent uptick in donations.”

Said one GOP strategist: “This could be one of those times when you’re better off being the one everybody wants rather than being the one who actually gets picked.”

Coming this summer: The Rise of the President’s Permanent Campaign by Brendan J. Doherty.

Toby Harnden gets an early look: “Barack Obama has already held more re-election fundraising events than every elected president since Richard Nixon combined… Obama is also the only president in the past 35 years to visit every electoral battleground state in his first year of office.”

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates is going into business with two other top officials from the George W. Bush administration, the AP reports.

“Gates will join an international consulting firm headed by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley. The new firm, to be called RiceHadleyGates, is based in California and Washington, D.C.”

The Chicago Tribune interviews billionaire investor Ken Griffin:

Q. What do you think in general about the influence of people with your means on the political process? You said shame on the politicians for listening to the CEOs. Do you think the ultrawealthy have an inordinate or inappropriate amount of influence on the political process?

A. I think they actually have an insufficient influence. Those who have enjoyed the benefits of our system more than ever now owe a duty to protect the system that has created the greatest nation on this planet. And so I hope that other individuals who have really enjoyed growing up in a country that believes in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — and economic freedom is part of the pursuit of happiness — (I hope they realize) they have a duty now to step up and protect that.”