The Robotics of Marco Rubio
Can the Senator recover from his rocky performance in Saturday’s debate in time for the Primary?
Senator Marco Rubio went into last night’s Republican debate still on a high from landing third place in the Iowa Caucus. This high would prove short-lived, however, as Rubio became visibly flustered by Governor Chris Christie’s belittling of him during the debate. Senator Rubio mechanically repeated the same phrase to deflect Christie’s claims on his youth and inexperience in office, and Christie responded saying:
“Marco, the thing is this: When you’re president of the United States, […] the memorized 30-second speech when you talk about how great America is at the end of it — it doesn’t solve one problem for one person.”
It was a rough night for Rubio, indeed. This morning at The Radisson Hotel in Manchester, NH, Time Magazine and USC: Annenberg held an event, Super Sunday Before the New Hampshire Primary, with an esteemed panel of the nation’s top political journalists and experts. It featured Chuck Todd (NBC News Political Director and Moderator of “Meet the Press”), Matthew Dowd (ABC News Political Analyst), Jay Newton-Small (Time’s Washington Correspondent), and Michael Scherer (Time’s Washington Bureau Chief). The entire event was moderated by the editor of Time, Nancy Gibbs. When the panel was asked about their thoughts on the New Hampshire debate, they responded saying they were expecting all of the candidates to attack each other like a scene from “Red Wedding” or “The Hunger Games.” There was some banter between the speakers about which movie reference was the most apt, but they all agreed that Rubio’s poor performance was surprising, especially considering that Christie told the media about his plan to attack Rubio several days before the debate. Dowd speculated that this moment might attach itself to the Senator, like a “virus.” Newton-Small agreed, saying that Rubio’s answers were robotic. The acclaimed group moved away from the subject but the question lingered: How can this man be President of the United States if he can’t think on his feet?
With only a few days left before the primary, it doesn’t seem like this stumble will cause any serious damage for Rubio. His conservative Republican supporters remain as loyal as ever, if not more passionate than before. Charlie and Betsy Pyne traveled all the way from Massachusetts to see Rubio speak at his Hudson Town Hall event. When asked about how Rubio did in the debate, they said that he still has their vote and insisted that Governor Christie is a “mean, unprincipled bastard.”
On the opposite side of the room is Eric Cooper, a conservative Republican giving Rubio one last shot. He attended last night’s debate on the fence between Cruz and Rubio but left knowing he was voting for Cruz. Although Rubio was able to grab the independent votes at the last minute in Iowa, New Hampshire is a very different state with very different demographics. Besides the conservatives who are still unsure of Rubio, nearly 40% of voters are registered Independents who frequently wait until the day of the primary to make their voting decisions. Also at the Town Hall is Aleena, an Independent who believes Rubio is the most dynamic, charismatic candidate in the race. She is still in support of him but is concerned about the primary. She said,
“He got slaughtered [in the debate]! I’m not sure how Tuesday will go anymore.”
Despite his semi-mechanical, unsatisfactory performance last night, Rubio had a strong recovery today emphasizing his sturdiest beliefs such as education and national security. Now let’s see if he can be as strong in this Tuesday’s primary.
