A large part of Rubio's upticking in the polls — at Bush's continued expense — will likely be due to his comprehension of what Trump comprehended long ago: Republican politics is all about vitriol.
For weeks I was dumbfounded at Jeb's relative calm in the face of Trump's persistent assaults. But Marco? He sees his opportunity and he's taking it, because of P.T. Barnum's reputed advice: If you want to draw a crowd, start a fight. Trump noticed Rubio's rise, so Trump, predictably, has lit into him. Nothing could make Rubio happier. It's crowd-drawing time.
Today on NPR the Florida senator first said he's "not interested in the back and forth to be a member or part of [Trump's] freak show." He then betrayed that lack of interest with stiletto-like, self-interested precision:
[Trump] is a very sensitive person. He doesn't like to be criticized. He responds to criticism very poorly. He had a speech in South Carolina to an empty crowd. He got booed on Friday at that Values Voters Summit. His poll numbers have taken a beating, and he was embarrassed on national television at the debate by Carly Fiorina and others.
This stuff sells big to an audience raised on what, by now, is tediously called the politics of personal destruction. Tedious or not in name, it works in execution (for a while, anyway). Just ask Trump. Or, you can ask Rubio — who either figured out what Bush couldn't, or is simply willing to do what Bush isn't: get really nasty.