https://hotair.com/allahpundit/2016/02/08/rush-limbaugh-defends-rubios-debate-answer-hes-absolutely-right-that-obama-knows-what-hes-doing/feed/HotAir is the leading conservative blog for breaking news and commentary covering the Biden administration, politics, media, culture, and current elections.en-usThu, 23 Apr 2026 20:03:44 -0400<![CDATA[Via the Daily Rushbo, that&#8217;s the second time in a week that Rush has given Rubio a vote of confidence at a moment when the rest of the field (Ted Cruz very much included) is desperate to blow him up. That feels strange after so many months of Limbaugh mainstreaming Trump on the right &#8212; as I said in last week&#8217;s post, it&#8217;s hard to be pro-Trump and pro-Rubio &#8212; but it makes sense strategically. If Rubio collapses, conservatives are left with Cruz and &#8230; that&#8217;s pretty much it, given that the other remaining survivors in the field are apt to be Trump, Kasich, and/or Bush. Unless you want to (shudder) take a second look at Jeb, you need Rubio in there in case Cruz hits a wall after the SEC primary. For all his faults, from amnesty to hyper-interventionism to his inability to stray off-script even when he&#8217;s being mocked for staying relentlessly on script, Rubio would still be more conservative as president than the rest of his center-right competition. Rush is simply playing the long game here by declining to wreck him for his debate stumble.]]>Mon, 08 Feb 2016 15:21:04 -0500<![CDATA[Allahpundit]]>https://hotair.com/allahpundit/2016/02/08/rush-limbaugh-defends-rubios-debate-answer-hes-absolutely-right-that-obama-knows-what-hes-doing-n230772