What’s Next for Marco Rubio?

Marco Rubio’s concession speech went on and on and on and on. Yes, of course, it was also covering the fact that he was dropping out of the race, but how long can that take? Seriously. The only thing Rubio didn’t repeat is his most often repeated phrase, “When I’m president.”

If you have time, here’s the entire 13 minute-34 second speech.

As I sat in my car, waiting to get out, I listened to all the same old lines from his campaign speeches. Again. And after he delivered the two messages, “I lost,” and “I’m quitting,” he just kept going. Why? Then it hit me. This was a job application.

Rubio didn’t run for re-election. He lost his run for president. Basically, in January, he’ll be unemployed. I wonder if he’ll put in a cameo in the senate? Sort of like the scene in the middle of the movie A Few Good Men, when Tom Cruise says, “so this is what a courtroom looks like.” Sorry. I couldn’t resist.

Anyway, there was talk of having Rubio run for Governor in 2018. Really? Is it really reasonable that a “favorite son” could lose by 20 points in his own state and still have a future there? Donald Trump has been saying “they hate him down there. . .he couldn’t get elected dog catcher.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEuT4OwGugU

Trump’s apparently right, according to his former allies:

It is widely anticipated that Marco Rubio is going to get shellacked on his home turf in Tuesday’s Florida presidential primary. A very unsympathetic Friday profile in the Tampa Bay Times suggests that part of the reason this is so is that Rubio’s entire career has consisted of sweet-talking influential individuals into giving him big opportunities only to drop those individuals like hot rocks when another better thing comes along.

The Daily Beast suggests that Rubio won on a Tea Party wave, but was now drowned by it:

“We’re going to have a sweet taste in our mouths tomorrow when little Marco gets embarrassed by those he betrayed. He betrayed all of Florida, but mostly he betrayed people like me who worked hard to get him elected,” said Dan Ray, a founding member of Tea Party group in The Villages, a large retirement community in Florida, where Rubio campaigned earlier this week.

In this discussion of candidates for governor, Rubio was dismissed out-of-hand:

Adam Putnam will be the Republican nominee Governor of Florida in 2018. Putnam would beat Rubio in the primary if Rubio even ran.

There are always precedents. Richard Nixon lost his run for the presidency in 1960. Then, he ran for governor in 1962, and was beaten again. That was when he made the infamous, “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore” speech.

HOWEVER, Nixon couldn’t sit still. It drove his wife, Pat, crazy. He ran across the nation, campaigning for anyone who would have him. He worked hard for Barry Goldwater’s presidential bid in 1964, and was also active for congressional candidates in 1966, as described here.

By the time 1968 came along, Nixon had accumulated a lot of “chits”–everybody owed Nixon something, so he quickly became the frontrunner for president, even after being a two-time loser, just a few years earlier.

In this case, Rubio could run for governor of Florida, lose, throw a tantrum, then go on the road. That could set him up to run in 2024, after the next President leaves office. He might have even developed some maturity/gravitas by then.

But that’s a long way off. That certainly wouldn’t explain Rubio’s marathon speech, now. Then, as noted above, I realized he’s not talking to his supporters. He’s talking to Donald Trump or Ted Cruz. This was a speech meant to position him for a vice presidential bid.

Or, more realistically, a position in the administration. After all, he’ll be unemployed, and Hillary’s gig in the Obama administration seems to have boosted her respect. Then, the next time Rubio runs, Rick Santorum might be able to come up with at least one achievement of Rubio.

So, you tell us. For which administration position should Marco be nominated?