Those problematic poll numbers have led Rubio to tumble from the ranks of the top-tier candidates in early 2016 handicapping. In our own Fix rankings, we had Rubio ranked as the candidate most likely to wind up as the Republican nominee when we released our first 2016 rankings back in February 2013. By January 2014, Rubio had dropped to 7th in our rankings.

If you want to run for president — as Rubio does — numbers like those are enough to set off a major sweat. And, they have to be addressed — as quickly as possible. (Ask the Rubio team about his involvement in immigration reform and they will note that a) he had no choice as the party’s most high profile Hispanic and b) it happened in early 2013, meaning there was/is plenty of time to contextualize his involvement with GOP voters.)

The quickest way to do that? Attack President Obama under the the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend theory of politics. Hence why Rubio was right by Cruz’s side when the Texas Senator was standing, literally, in opposition to President Obama’s health care law. Or attacking Obama’s ambassadorial nominees. Or even tweeting about Obama’s comments on art history majors. All of those attacks are tied together by Obama. Making himself a foil to Obama, which is what he seemed to be growing into before his dry-mouth response to the State of the Union in 2013 and his subsequent involvement in immigration reform, is the most reliable route to convincing conservatives that, the immigration apostasy aside, he is one of them.