When the “establishment” is trying to figure out who they support in a presidential primary, I figure one of the key issues is: “Can I imagine myself taking orders from this person?”
OK, not “orders,” precisely. But you know what I mean. The president is the party leader, and one of the whole points of being part of the establishment is that you’re the kind of person who accepts the leadership of your president. This explains, for example, why the establishment is horrified about Donald Trump. They can’t imagine taking orders from a politically ignorant jackass like him. And they hate Ted Cruz’s guts, so they can’t abide the idea of taking orders from him either.
But what about Marco Rubio? Everyone’s been wondering lately why the establishment didn’t rally around Rubio earlier, since he seemed like sort of an obvious choice. My guess is that it’s not because they hate Rubio, or because they think he’s a buffoon. But they do think he’s a nervous and overly ambitious young man who’s a bit of an empty suit. If he’s the nominee, they’ll suck it up and support him. But the idea of taking orders from this pipsqueak sticks in their craw.
They’re in quite the pickle, aren’t they?
