RUBIO RISING? – AT 10:05 A.M. ET:  Are you getting the same impression I am, that we're seeing a lot of Marco Rubio these days?   After months of relative silence, Rubio, one of the most charismatic individuals in the Republican Party, has moved front and center, all the while denying he has any ambitions for 2012.  Here's a late quote from him:

“We don't need new taxes. We need new taxpayers, people that are gainfully employed, making money and paying into the tax system. And then we need a government that has the discipline to take that additional revenue and use it to pay down the debt and never grow it again. And that's what we should be focused on, and that's what we're not focused on..."

And...

"I have never met a job creator who told me that they were waiting for the next tax increase before they started growing their business. I've never met a single job creator who's ever said to me I can't wait until government raises taxes again so I can go out and create a job.

"And I'm curious to know if they say that in New Hampshire because they don't say that in Florida. And so my view on all this is I want to know how many jobs these tax increases the president proposes will create because if they're not creating jobs and they're not creating new taxpayers, they're not solving the problem."

COMMENT:  Hmm.  Did the man say "New Hampshire"?  Isn't that where the first primary will be held?  I mean, for a guy who's not interested, why pick New Hampshire to be curious about.

Why do I get the feeling that Marco Rubio will be on the national ticket next year?  Why do I get the feeling that this is a very good idea?

July 8, 2011