He'll stay in the race, no doubt. But this is a catch 22 for the establishment. The more Rubio rises, the more attention will be paid to him, the more evident his flaws will become. So how do you wrap up the nomination for a guy without him receiving the scrutiny of a frontrunner?
The answer is "You don't."
Rubio is a little snot-nose who is both strident and scripted. He's not likeable, and he comes off as excessively self-serving, even for a politician. He got rattled, and he missed all sorts of rebuttals he could have made to Christie. He could have pointed out that he has more experience than Abraham Lincoln, who was never a Governor, and he could have compared Christie to Stephen A. Douglas. He could have pointed out how Porky Pig Christie (I'm sorry, but I really don't like him.) defends himself on Bridgegate by claiming ignorance of what was going on. He could have pointed out that Christie's denigration of the role of a Senator was an insult to Barry Goldwater, Bob Dole, and John McCain. He could have mentioned that no one seems to point out inexperience as an issue when it comes to Ted Cruz, who has less time in the Senate than Rubio and was never Speaker of a legislative chamber, as Rubio was in the Florida House. He could have pointed out Christie's bull-in-the-china-shop image as an impediment to getting things done. He could have pointed out how Christie overinflates his experience in "fighting terrorism" when it comes to his days as a US Attorney. He could have sarcastically suggested that Christie had the temperament to be an Attorney General but not a President. Instead, he let Christie eat his lunch AND his dinner. (It's what Christie does best, lol.)
As much as I dislike Rubio, I dislike Christie far more. I view him as a Cheat-To-Win prosecutor with an eye on "winning" but not on "justice", who'd be a Nixonian nightmare as President, complete with enemies lists, illegal surveillance, etc. Christie shouldn't get within 100 miles of the White House; he's not even fit for the guided tour. But Rubio just appeared horrible last night, and Christie did the dirty work of taking him down. I can't see how he'll recover from this disaster; it will be the gift that keeps on giving. Not for Christie, but for Cruz and for Jeb Bush.
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