Marco Rubio drinks water—too much water?

Yesterday, the Marco Rubio campaign sent an email to supporters that may not have said what it meant. Props to Twitter’s Mike Tipping for the screenshot:

The first draft read, “I know you get a lot of email, but I wouldn’t be sending this unless it was urgent. And it is, because I’m sending it. Because it’s urgent. That’s why I’m sending it…” and continued for 970 words. But this draft merely assures us that “the media and Democrats know the threat that my campaign and supporters pose to our nation when we win next November.” It’s a weird thing to say, because I get the sense the media doesn’t know anything about Rubio at all. But at least he made a unique donation button just for me. I hate to click on the same button other people have clicked on. It makes me feel like that button’s a whore.

The good news is that Donald Trump has turned against him. Since Rubio is not a woman, that means his campaign is doing well. And sure enough, a new USA Today poll has him in second place ahead of Donald Trump, with Carly Fiorina running first. Please, God, let Carly Fiorina run against Hillary Clinton in the general election, so that I can feel good about voting for a former president’s wife.

But then, as we read on, we learn that this USA Today poll is not a poll but a ranking, compiled by surveying “about 30 political experts from around the country.” Fiorina, Rubio and Trump do not lead the field among voters so much as among people who try to guess what voters will think. In CNN’s Real Clear Politics¹ polling aggregate, Trump leads Fiorina by seven points and Rubio by 14.

So it appears that A) USA Today’s surprising report that Rubio has jumped ahead in the race might be a story manufactured in-house, and B) the media does not oppose Rubio’s campaign so bitterly after all. Despite the threat he poses to our nation, 30 political experts predict that we will love him. Later, I guess.

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