Whatever his campaign is doing to make him bubble under the spotlight for now, could very well turn out to be a stroke of genius in the end. I don't see how it shouldn't be obvious to everyone that Rubio is by far the closest to occupying a sweet spot for the Republicans.
Rubio is running such an awesomely smart campaign. Quietly building support while staying out of the spotlight for the most part. Staying above the fray by not insulting opponents or wading into controversial issues just yet. Speaking out strongly on foreign policy issues, his strength. Performing impressively in debates.
It's all by design, this long game. A quiet, strong presence in a slow, steady rise. Weariness with Trump's antics will set in, the truth of the incompetence of the outsiders on top will come to light, and all the other candidates will continue faltering.
There, in the middle of it, will be Rubio, the bridge, the hope, the only answer, peaking at just the right time. Not "Aha!" but "Duh!" - he's been there all along.
In the 538 post-debate discussion, they also seemed to think Rubio was smart to fly under the radar. This does sort of fit with the winning strategies of the last few cycles including the one we're in- the flavors of the month of 2012, McCain's collapse and revival in 2008, Obama's steady rise in 2008, Kerry only really emerging after beating Dean in Iowa. But what I don't see mentioned a lot is that this was sort of the opposite of what used to be the norm for the GOP: Reagan, HW, Dole and W were all early frontrunners who dominated polling by this time in their cycle.
