Marco Rubio is the most disappointing candidate since Rudy Giuliani

I’ll admit that I was just becoming aware that I’m a Republican at the time that Rudy Giuliani was running for President. Heck, I wasn’t even in high school yet but I knew that I liked the man who was on television during my formative years when 9/11 changed the world. He represented strength and security in a way that was appealing to a child who was scared of the bad men in the shadows.

My parents were pretty sure he would be the nominee in the weeks leading up to the Iowa caucus in 2008. He was polling well and America seemed to still love the guy who was on watch when 9/11 happened. He was heralded for his response to the tragedy and since then had grown in his political acumen. Then, things went south quickly. He fell off the map. He went from hero to zero in record time. The disappointment Republicans felt in him was sudden and absolute.

In Marco Rubio, we’re seeing a different type of disappointment brewing. We saw it starting with his support of the Gang of Eight bill less than two years after getting elected on a Tea Party platform that squarely opposed amnesty. We saw it when he was given his first national stage in response to President Obama’s State of the Union address when he looked like a little doe caught in the headlights and grasping for water. We saw it in the Senate as he proved himself to be a great orator but not so great at actually doing anything of substance.

Now, we’re seeing it on the campaign trail. Here’s a man who, unlike Giuliani, is disappointing consistently and over a longer period of time. He isn’t acutely disappointing but rather is like a constant ache of disappointment as he campaigns poorly and switches tactics based upon the whims of the Republican Establishment. Even if he wins a state or two on Super Tuesday, his campaign has been a failure. It shouldn’t have come to this. He should have won South Carolina. He should have won Nevada. He’s projected to lose Florida. His campaign is a like a shell corporation rather than a vibrant corporate entity.

My support for Marco Rubio is over. He will make a good Vice President because it’s a role that holds more symbolism than function. That’s what Rubio is best at – carrying a message rather than delivering results.