What's Another Number?

At my alma mater, Syracuse University, 44 is a magic number. It is Jim Bown, Ernie Davis, Floyd Little, Larry Csonka. The city changed its zip code to include "44" and the student phone exchange prefixes begin with 44.

Today, this Syracuse grad turned 44 with very little fanfare. I was in Clemson and got a call from the kids in the morning, singing "You're growing old, you have gray hair...and dirty underwear."

I didn't tell any of my crew, and despite a couple of odes to me on Twitter and Facebook, nobody noticed. I don't make a big deal about other people's birthdays (or any of the Hallmark holidays) so I don't expect any well wishes in return. It's not the roadmap to a healthy relationship (or maybe it is, I'm still figuring that all out).

The last day of February is just another day on the calendar, or as I learned today, Dean Smith's birthday. But he's 82, much closer to the median age of a Fox News viewer than I.

I did spend my day in Clemson with a great lunch at The Esso Club and a late dinner at 356 Sushi. In between was a very mundane win for North Carolina over Clemson. It was a pretty typical day on the road and never felt like a special day.

It's just another day and another year removed from my youth, never more evident than on a stop-over on a fun college campus. And it's a number that reminds me I haven't changed the world in any meaningful way.

Biggie Smalls kicked in the door, wavin' the four-four. I went quietly into March 2013.

Flash Backtime: Marco Rubio, Behind The Music

Giving the opposition response to the State Of The Union address is hard. You have to attack or at the very least contrast the President by dishing similar rhetoric.

But when the President delivers in this forum, he gets standing ovations and backslaps from both sides. The response has no audience and no pause, it's just one person in a stale environment looking directly into the camera for 14 or so minutes - Or in Michele Bachmann's case, looking away from it.

Call it executive privilege I guess. Marco Rubio's response was more eloquent than Bobby Jindal or Paul Ryan before him, though he became fidgety and mushy-mouthed about 5 minutes in. When you have an audience, you can stop to wipe your brow or get a drink of water after an applause line. There is no such luxury in this role.

And unfortunately, the substance (I know that's a stretch) of Rubio's speech was lost as millions at home recognized how unnerved he was. Time Magazine may have anointed him as "The Republican Savior," but last night he was just another political pawn, one that is sacrificed in the big chess game.

Since the clip of a shifty (see what I did there?) Rubio reaching for his bottled water will be on a loop for the next four years, Backtime proudly re-airs its much more comprehensive dossier on Senator Rubio from this past fall.

September 22, 2012

On June 19th of this year, two dueling Marco Rubio biographies were released on the same day. On the left American Son, the memoir/autobiography of the Florida Senator and conservative rock star. On the right The Rise Of Marco Rubio, the unauthorized biography by Washington Post writer Manuel Roig-Franzia. Which one do you think I read?

Roig-Franzia's work is investigative to put it lightly. The text of the book, including afterword is 244 pages. After that, there are 32 pages of source notes. Much of the professional end is kind of boring, unless you like the hero's ascension through local and state politics. But as Rubio's life story is peeled back layer-by-layer, you can see why he wasn't the VP pick.

Would Rubio have helped Romney's chances? Maybe. Would he have dragged more drama into a ticket already riddled with soap opera? Absolutely. Not that anything necessarily disqualifies Rubio from the job. But the national vetting process would've caught wildfire with all the issues the book details, especially in a 3-month sprint to the finish.

Rubio's story, which is uniquely American by the way, is better deconstructed over the long haul. He could announce in 2015 and let the media and his GOP opponents have at it. What would be massive distractions to the campaign now would be something he and his strategists could tackle individually over the long haul.

Before chronicling the problems with Marco Rubio's own narrative, it's important to point out that he's not Tea Party. Yes he rode the insurgent wave against the GOP establishment in 2010 as he was a massive underdog to Florida's then-Governor Charlie Crist, and incorporated the movement into a landslide victory.

He essentially sent Crist packing to the other side. And Crist's chief strategist, Stuart Stevens, who managed a huge lead into a woeful defeat is doing his unwitting best to unravel Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign.

Rubio was the House Speaker in one of the purplest states in the country. While he wasn't a household name, he was a political animal. He got the Tea Party support because Crist infamously hugged President Obama. Godfather Jim DeMint gave the blessing, but once in the Senate Rubio opted not to join Rand Paul's Tea Party Caucus.

On the whole Rubio's bio is conservative enough, definitively on social issues and mostly (a converted GOP spender) on financial ones. But he's been moderate-to-progressive on immigration, and had to modify his position several times as the GOP candidates tried to out-reactionary each other in the early 2012 debates.

Rubio's mantra is about a family being welcomed in the America, and the land of opportunity made it possible for him to be where he is today. Which is true. Except he wasn't exactly forthcoming with his story's specifics, and it might seem as though it was politicized to raise his profile.

Rubio went on the stump and kick-started his web bio as his family was in exile, fleeing from the thug Castro's Cuba. But the real story is that his parents arrived in May of 1956, a good 2 1/2 years before Castro took power.

And while it's true that after Castro the Rubio family could not return to their homeland, they were immigrants, not refugees. In fact Rubio's grandfather, Pedro Victor Garcia was a proud man. When he realized that he couldn't find good work in the US and was tired of depending on his seven daughters and their husbands, he returned to Cuba in 1959 to make a better living.

If anyone ever scratched their head about what on earth Mitt Romney meant by "self-deportation," this encapsulates it. Garcia actually took a job with the Cuban government (Castro regime) before returning to the US in 1962, attempting to re-enter for good. An immigration judge ordered him deported, but the Cuban Missile Crisis began, and his return to Cuba became logistically impossible though his presence in the US remained illegal for several years until his permanent residency was approved in 1967.

The point here is that Cuban-Americans are held politically in higher regard than other Latino immigrants because of their escape from Communist rule. Again it doesn't diminish the Rubio success story, but the circumstances under which the family arrived from Cuba are not political, and not exploitable for political gain.

There's more family baggage of note. Rubio's sister's husband, brother-in-law Orlando Cicilia, was convicted on a drug trafficking/money laundering deal in 1987. He didn't seem to be a major player, but it was for a major honcho (think Calderone from Miami Vice). He wound up serving 12 years on a 25-year sentence.

How does this affect Marco Rubio, who was roaming in the defensive secondary at South Miami High at the time? Likely not at all. But it became a major dust-up with Univision when they broke the story. Which could be another reason Rubio isn't ready for the national glare, that he reacts hotly and needs time to grow a thicker skin to play the bigger game.

Then there are the corrupt types around him. Rubio's very first fundraiser when running for US Senate was thrown by Alan Mendelsohn, a notorious GOP donor, who later was sentenced to four years in prison for bribery, siphoning PAC funds, and failing to report 600K in income.

And members of Rubio's inner-circle have also found trouble. State Legislator Ralph Arza faced pressure to resign after using racial slurs more than once. And his itimidation tactics later led to a guilty plea in a witness-tampering case. He got six months.

Rubio's other right-hand man David Rivera, is now the US Representative from Florida's 25th district. He has repeatedly been under investigation related to financial disclosures, and possible kickbacks received from gambling proprietors (dog track owners).

Despite Rubio's fierce anti-gambling track record (he saw the destruction of lives throughout his years in Vegas), he and Rivera are best buddies. They were even involved in a foreclosure proceeding for a house they co-owned in Tallahassee, which was quickly rectified.

But many of Rubio's personal finances are co-mingled with his political ones. There are many situations over the years where his RNC card was used to pay for personal stuff, big and small. Rubio always seemed to work the matters out, but it could be interpreted as he was trying to slide some purchases through.

That could be in part due to his own personal financial disclosures, which showed an ongoing debt problem (into low six figures) that could be viewed in direct opposition to the public profile of personal responsibility. In later years, the lucrative sale of property to a campaign contributor also raised some flags.

These items from the Florida political landscape are documented matter-of-factly by Roig-Franzia. Corruption and kickbacks are nothing new to the Florida state politics, or would it be to any other state. It's the price of doing business, and Rubio doesn't come across as a criminal or an angel.

Rubio's religious history is also a zigzag. He was born Catholic, converted to Mormon when his family moved to Las Vegas in his middle school years, became Catholic again when the family returned to Miami, then went Baptist as an adult while eventually settling on Catholic.

His straddling of the line between the different branches of Christianity may also come across as calculated. After all, in order to embrace all of Florida, it would be wise to caucus with the Spanish-speaking Catholics in Miami while simultaneously thumping bibles in the panhandle. Throw in some pandering to rich Jews in Boca (make sure you check for hidden cameras) and you've got the trifecta.

What the book doesn't capture is the charismatic figure and captivating speaker that Rubio has become, you'd probably have to read the other book to tap into that. He is championed by republicans up and down the line, and seems respected by democrats as well.

His endorsement of Romney was tepid (like many), he's kept a fairly low profile throughout 2012, and looks to be gauging which way the future GOP wind blows, so he can adjust his sail accordingly.

A Capitol Idea

I'm not exactly sure what the powers that be were looking to get out of the Benghazi hearings yesterday, but it didn't seem like there were any dots to connect. If anything, this was master political positioning from the Clinton camp.

I'm not saying Hillary Clinton's illness was faked by any stretch, but it was certainly fortuitous timing as it relates to this matter. She had extra time to prepare for every angle, and most importantly it was her last appearance as Secretary of State. So it wasn't just a congressional hearing, it was a going-away party.

As everyone thanked her for her tenure with the State Department, it became a love-fest. If anyone expected her to fall on her sword in a moment of great panic or bewilderment, that was a Hail Mary.

If anything it hurt the GOP in the future as Clinton came across as forceful and unflappable, and thus an imposing figure should she become the Dem nominee in 2016. The substance of what she was saying was secondary as we've learned in today's politics.

Mitt Romney won a presidential debate by incessantly lying and changing his story. Joe Biden won a vice-presidential debate by incessantly interrupting and talking down to Paul Ryan. It's not what these people say as much as the presence they bring to a confrontation, at least in the eyes of the average American.

Now who's got more headwinds going into 2016, Clinton or Biden? The left probably likes either option, there's "an heir and a spare."

It's hard to see Biden not getting the nod if he wants it. He's been President Obama's hammer in dealing with Congress and spreading the message, which trumps Hillary jet-setting all over the world as a liaison. Obama would be compelled to endorse Biden, though Ms. Clinton at her current standing (which is unlikely to change in the coming months or years) may not even need his endorsement.

Paper Backtime: Oh What Could Have Been

Today Barack Obama took the Oath of Office for his second term as President. It made me think of what the last 4 years could have been in an alternate universe. And in that time, there is no book I enjoyed more than Andrew Young's account of life in the service of John Edwards.

Young isn't a great writer or particularly funny. But the chronological narrative is well-structured, the details are incredible, and the story is unbelievably believable. It is one part political insider and one part spy novel. The documentation of the trouble and expense of the Rielle Hunter cover-up is truly mind-blowing.

The campaign fraud case of The United States versus John Edwards ended in a mistrial this past May. How dare the feds spend our tax money on a case against the slickest lawyer around?

It was a bad federal case on its general merits - meaning it could be argued out of. Most of the legwork is the result of this book, so Andrew Young is seen as an opportunist. He's a political operative, which automatically makes him a morally flexible money grubber. But that doesn't mean he's lying.

A Senator's right-hand man probably makes about $120K, plus political graft: a handful of free tennis lessons for your daughter, prime Redskins seats a couple of times a year, etc. So were there angles that Young played in the aftermath of the Edwards "affair" for financial gain? Yes of course, but he would likely make his own case that his family earned it.

It was Edwards whose narcissism made Young part of the public eye in the first place, when he coerced him into claiming paternity during Hunter's pregnancy. Young went along with it as his career had become co-dependant with Edwards. And once it got started and all the lies started snowballing it was too late to extricate himself. It was sort of like the Manti Te'o situation, only it really happened.

Young was starry-eyed when he went to work for a prolific trial-lawyer turned wonder boy US Senator. He and his family were sucked in by the potential of being inner-circle power players as Edwards ran for Vice President in '04 and then for top dog in '08. But Edwards was sucked in as well.

Edwards came from humble beginnings, the "son of a mill worker," he grew up with a silver tongue in the courtroom and aged very handsomely despite the death of his teenage son. And despite being puppeteered by another attorney, Elizabeth Edwards.

Young backs up the subject that was broached in Game Change, that Elizabeth manipulated John's entire career, verbally abused him relentlessly, berated the senior staff and used them as personal gophers.

I introduced one of my lawyer friends to this book, and he said there was a reason he never dated a fellow law student.

As Edwards got closer and closer to his presidential run, his wife became more and more impossible, and he wound up seeking comfort in a relationship with another relentless and demanding woman, Rielle Hunter. Young was the one caught in the middle, as he was trusted by all parties concerned. His job ceased to be about the campaign, but the all-encompassing cover-up.

The ride gets really wild once Hunter becomes pregnant, with the cloak-and-dagger operation staying one step ahead of the mainstream media. There were private jets, 5-star hotels, donor mansions, spiritual advisors, and a seemingly endless stream of improper campaign funds used to pay for it all.

Young at this point must have known this was going to explode. So as a political person, he had covered his ass. He took unbelievably detailed notes, saved e-mails and voicemails (the nastiest ones were from Elizabeth), and saw the opportunity to write a book.

And as stated earlier, Young does nothing for added dramatic effect. The events themselves, the transcriptions of the messages, and the funneling of the money, are all dramatic enough.

Hunter wrote a book as well, What Really Happened, released this past May. But it's not on my to-do list. She seemed just as narcissistic as Edwards, and she seemed mostly unsympathetic throughout the read. Plus she's very new-agey and while I enjoy yoga and meditation as much as the next guy, it doesn't promise anywhere near what Young achieved here.

Now the whole sketchy mess is over, the trial is over, the Edwards/Hunter sex tape has been destroyed, and everyone has told their story. Andrew and Cheri Young reside with their three children in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Hopefully they are living peacefully, comfortably, and normally.

Flash Backtime: It's A Wonderful Life (This Week Anyway)

It's that time of year again. Time to celebrate the holiday season, the spirit of giving and unselfishness. When we all live in Bedford Falls.

But would George Bailey's story play today? In this economic and divisive political climate?

An conservative cohort once admitted his incongruous love affair with It's A Wonderful Life, "Isn't it clear that George Bailey is a socialist community organizer?"

The Backtime archives on Barack Obama's first week in office:

January 23, 2009

I was on a plane during inauguration, so it took me a few days to get up to speed. It unfolded like a Capra film - there was Mr. Obama going to Washington to bring conscience to the DC consortium. And the masses braved the cold to see the man who came from nowhere to be the ultimate example for everyone's dreams. 

Just like George Bailey, Barack Obama is driven by a responsibility to others. His self-expression has to take a back seat while he tries to bail out the US Savings & Loan. And the supporting cast was right there to fill out the party. 

Ted Kennedy's moment of the week was something Uncle Billy easily could have pulled at the big gala. Caroline Kennedy was Violet Bick, outcast through a web of unspecific innuendo. And who was Clarence the angel? The good-natured oddball dimwit who showed President Obama how important he is to the world? I'm going with George W. Bush. And tell me Dick Cheney in the wheelchair didn't conjure up thoughts of the warped, frustrated Mr. Potter. Fortunately Potter's reign is over and Bedford Falls can thrive across America. 

If only this were a black and white film.

Pull Up A Chair: Maddow On Colbert

There is no table I would've rather sat at in my life than this one. And maybe from our chance meeting we could start a friendship. Stephen and I could go to ballgames, play word association, and maybe train together in the sport of kings. And perhaps Rachel would accept my hand in marriage, and we could have long walks and talk politics, while she expertly mixed my favorite drink.

But sadly I'm probably not their types. While my life does intersect with some iconic people, I'll just have to accept that these two are beyond my grasp as I am relegated to a life of amateur hero worship.

They are two great examples of American television genius, thorough deconstructors of the events of the day, and whistleblowers of hypocrisy. They separate the signal from the noise. Each obviously does their work in very different ways, but have created two mainstays in nightly TV fare.

Maddow echoed what we knew all along about the election, that Republicans were relying on their "gut" that it would be a Romney landslide, that Karl Rove had pointed to the enthusiastic crowds, which "turned out to be a bad way to predict an election."

But Colbert said never say die, there's still a path for Romney to 270:

"He just needs to get Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, and the secret state only Republicans can see... Whitesylvania."

It was a gratuitous laugh line, but he boiled down the Rachel Maddow Show as well as any ever has:

"You deconstruct the day's news like the parts of a car on a lawn...but then you reconstruct those pieces into -- a conservative dream-killing machine."

Maddow laughed and said she didn't want to kill anybody's dream. She responded in her typically wonkish way, trying really, really hard not to offend.

"There's an important role to play in disabusing people of their fantasies that do not comport with what's going on in the real world."

As for the role of Sandy in the election, Colbert pressed Maddow on what caused hurricanes, telling her the answer was "gay people." Maddow blushed and quipped back, asking if gay people were responsible for lowering barometric pressure.

The interview fell short in a couple of areas. Colbert promoted, but never discussed Maddow's book, Drift. Because the conversation was only five minutes long. Which did both of these brilliant minds, and the audience, a disservice.

Why I Voted For Barack Obama

The plants are doing fine, but the lawn needed a fixer-upper. While my grass isn't growing, my confidence in this election is.

As a natural-born American (though I don't know exactly where my birth certificate is), it is my right to vote. And while I vote in private, I can explain my vote if I choose. I am not trying to influence anyone else's vote, and nobody is under any obligation to read any father...

First, I am a city-dweller and have been for most of my adult life. I like leaving my house and walking to get my errands done. And sometimes there's a sketchy area between Point A and Point B. Yet whether I walk alone or with my children, I feel safe.

Even those that are struggling in an urban community are invested in it. That's because of the involvement of government with programs that both bolster the safety net, help small business, and maintain law and order. Otherwise, the community unravels; the desperate turn to crime and the disillusioned bail out.

Some will say the system is failing already with rash of gun violence that has plagued cities like Chicago (and even Savannah) this year. While this is a disturbing trend, I don't see all violent crime the same. Show me that rapes, armed robberies and home invasions have spiked and I will be the first to flee to a gated community.

Until then, I believe in the path that helps the most people and strengthens communities.

Second,  the most important way to level the playing field is through education. Children in inner cities and rural areas need to have a chance at the best education available. Otherwise the inequality perpetuates itself for generations. Many children are born in bad situations through no fault of their own. Their only access to the American Dream is through the knowledge an education can bring, since in many cases they're not getting the right direction at home.

The way to ensure equal opportunity for all Americans is to start the process in pre-school. If we truly believe that the kid in a Savannah tenement has the same shot as someone who grows up in the governor's mansion in Lansing, Michigan, we need a greater investment in our teachers.

Now I am keenly aware that the system is set up to protect bad teachers. I don't know the answer to this problem. But increased charters, vouchers, and anything else that adds privatization into education only increases the chasm between the poor kids and everyone else.

Third, a President can only fulfill promises in a second term. It's unfortunate, but that's the way our system works. Like many, I've been jaded by the difference between Candidate Obama 2008 and President Obama 2012. And while change has been slow in the face of unprecedented obstructionism, a lot has been accomplished.

I look at 2012 as the campaign of real change. After Citizens United, the Obama campaign refused corporate money (I am aware that the DNC and SuperPACs take plenty of it), choosing instead for small donations from over 10 million individual Americans... citizens united indeed!

I trust that the President, beholden to no future campaigns, will not turn his back on the millions that he has incessantly hounded for cash for over a year now.

In 2008, Obama was a symbol of change. Hillary Clinton said it best when she battled him in the primaries, that he couldn't wave a magic wand and make the special interests go away.

In 2012, Obama becomes the agent of change. At least that's what I believe, I could be wrong. And if I am, it's a good thing my vote only counts once.

Flash Backtime: Politics And Football Metaphors

Every four years we get to this point. Football is our #1 sport nationally, full of strategy and angles, and a clock that will eventually run out. So naturally we all equate the final drive of this election season to the closing of a football game.

And the blog I filed for SavannahNow.com four years ago still holds true today, taking the football analogies right in the huddle with the signal callers.

October 16, 2008

I wasn't going to watch last night's debate because I had already voted, but the dynamics of the process are far too fascinating to turn away from. I especially like how football is so ingrained in the analysis of the TV commentators.

How often did you hear that McCain needed a "Hail Mary" or that Obama merely had to "sit on his lead" or "run out the clock." There are plenty of boxing analogies too, but they aren't as fun. So I decided to take it a step further and compare the two candidates to former NFL Quaterbacks.

Barack Obama is Troy Aikman. Each came from limited means and had to overcome early career adversity. Obama lost his first bid for the U.S. Congress. Aikman had to transfer to UCLA after losing his starting gig at Oklahoma. But after some seasoning, and surrounding themselves with talented and well-versed ensembles, they exude cool, charisma, and confidence. And then they became champions.

John McCain is Archie Manning. The un-polished, over-emotive, scrappy risk-taker who gave his all. But because of a motley crew of flunkies at his side, and some terrible decisions of his own, not even his great determination could lead him to the top. His spirit will win legions of fans, but he will inevitably lose the big showdown.

Obama "took a knee" last night when the Governor Palin question came up. He could have unloaded on her the way she has on him. Lord knows, there's plenty of material. He could have expanded his lead and "run up the score" but he took the high road to win with class.

Maybe you favor the loveable loser over the collected champion. That is your right. But don't expect a monumental comeback on November 4, because your heart will be broken again.

November 3, 2012

So who is Mitt Romney in this cosmic political gridiron tapestry?

I'm going with Chris Simms. Romney, like the younger Simms, was born into royalty in his field. He had all the tutelage, grooming, and good hair one could possibly need to take the world by the balls.

Simms set records at Texas and Romney tore up the private sector, but when it was time to go pro the results were tepid at best. Simms's career NFL record of 7-9 is akin to Romney's record as as Massachusetts governor, where Romney claims to have coexisted in a bipartisan fashion with the state's legislature but had over 800 vetoes over-ridden.

Ultimately both lacked the toughness necessary to succeed at the highest level, and are resigned to live out the remainder of their careers inconsequently and on name recognition alone.

Horserace Handicappers: Double Standard Edition

We all know who Nate Silver is by now. He moved on from crunching baseball numbers, and his Five Thirty Eight site is a national phenomenon and the electoral predictor of record. Until it isn't.

His calculations are based on science and variables, weighting of national and state polls, and historical precedents. He mixes it all in some sort of witch's brew which spits out a probability. Kind of like a sportsbook or a racetrack, hence the "horserace" metaphor.

Since summer, Silver has placed the probability of Obama's reelection as high as 80%, and no lower than 60%, even when Romney overtook the President in the Real Clear Politics national poll average.

As of the time of this posting, Nate Silver has the president's chance at reelection at 78.4%. Coincidentally, European megabook PaddyPower.com has Obama as a 1/3 favorite. And InTrade.com has Obama with a 69/31 advantage.

Does this mean that Silver is touting Obama? Yes and no. If you're at the craps table and you roll a 2, 3, 4, or 12, that equates to Romney's chances. The rest of the field would be for the President. It's math.

If Obama wins, especially as closely to Silver's model in 2008, the method will be borne out. If Romney wins, Silver loses all credibility. How could he have forecasted Obama so boldly when it was clearly a toss-up election?

Meanwhile on the other side...Dick Morris is an assclown.

His post on Real Clear Politics today is titled, "Here Comes The Landslide." Morris sees the "erosion" of Obama's ground in Ohio, New Hampshire, and Iowa.

He says that in the next few days the battle will move to Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. That "these new swing states look to be the battleground," with even New Jersey and Oregon coming into play. And Morris also says the GOP will see a net gain of six senate seats.

How RCP gives the same amount of space as Silver to someone so clearly in the hinterlands is a farce. The airtime he gets is less for everyone else to breathe.

His electoral map has Romney somewhere in the 350 range. According to Silver's science, the chances of that would be somewhere along the lines of rolling snake eyes four times in a row.

Now as an American, I fully support Morris's right to spew nonsense. What he lacks is both credibility and accountability. On what does he base these projections that allows him to contribute to the national discourse? And if he's wrong, will he admit he was wrong on November 7th?

There's the double standard. Nate Silver's cottage industry needs success to be credible. Dick Morris can predict anything he wants with no consequence.

And in a nutshell, there's the difference in the two bases. One side follows the facts, the other side takes it on faith.

Getting Off The Mat

Another night watching two things at once. And believe me, I much rather would've had a picture of the resurgent New York Yankees to lead today's weblog. But no such picture exists as the Yankees now face elimination, trailing Detroit 3-0 in the ALCS. More on that in a bit.

But in the meantime, our President showed some resiliency and some fight after a comatose doppelganger had apparently usurped his body in Denver 12 nights earlier.

I can't remember a debate of any kind affecting me so much. The first 40 minutes were so full of testy exchanges and personal space invasions, it made my heart race.

Certainly Romney had good moments and bad moments, and I felt he didn't lose so much as President Obama was a total badass.

My initial prediction that in a setting with average members of the electorate, Romney was bound to say something unrehearsed that would underscore his being out of touch. And that turned out to be true, on the issue of women in the workplace. Not that I think the "binders full of women" comment that everyone has run with was so bad. But more the context of women in the workplace, and talking about flexible hours so they can get home and make dinner, etc.

It reminds us that Mitt grew up, and subsequently raised his family in Pleasantville. Where breakfast and dinner were always on the table for Mr. Breadwinner. He is just now trying to re-adapt his thinking that things might be different, but he's too old to change. Except his position on abortion, and guns, and health care.

This is something the President gets. They aren't "women's issues," they are family issues and pocketbook issues.

And on this night, when Romney tried to make his own rules of the debate format, he couldn't just steamroll the moderator and the sitting President like they were long-haired hippies at Cranbrook. He was stood up to and put in his place.

When Mr. Romney did have a good comeback, asking the President to check his own overseas investments in his pension, Mr. Obama one-upped him, saying his pension wasn't as big so it wouldn't take as long to read.

And on Libya, the President adhered to The Art Of War axiom (or maybe it was from a comic book): "Never get in the way of your enemy when he is trying to destroy himself."

Hence: Please proceed, Governor. Or as those on Twitter pointed out in real time "The new fuck you."

Former GOP strategist Steve Schmidt remarked that Romney had a good debate on jobs, the economy and on energy. But he was blunt about where Mr. Romney had mis-stepped into fact-check hell:

"Romney's weakest moment was clearly on Libya. He stuck his chin out and got walloped."

Who really won and who lost the night, much like Denver, could be summed up in a wife's facial expression.

Here was the forced grin after watching your soulmate go through the meat grinder, far from the unbridled joy immediately after the first debate.

Meanwhile in Detroit, things continued along their projected path. Despite the much-needed insertion of Eduardo Nunez into the lineup, as he was the only one who could touch Justin Verlander with a solo HR in the 9th. And he turned out to be a difference maker instead of a liability at shortstop as well.

Both Nunez and Eric Chavez (starting for a benched A-Rod) made brilliant defensive plays to keep the game at 2-0 to set the stage for the 9th inning rally. But Jim Leyland and the Tigers smartly went to ex-Yank Phil Coke rather than the super-combustible Jose Valverde to close it.

Now the Yankees face the near-impossible task of winning 4 straight to get to the World Series. It makes me remember 2004 and the curse I placed on my own team when the Yanks took a 3-0 ALCS lead over Boston.

We were in Toledo for a football game, and the Yankees had just won Game 3 going away, 19-8. I put my arm around Bubba, a lifelong Sox fan, and out of pure placation I uttered the following words:

"Just because it hasn't been done, doesn't mean it can't be done."

The Red Sox tied the game in the 9th against Mariano Rivera in Game 4, ultimately winning in 12; and then they won Game 5 in 14 innings.

Game 6 was the Curt Schilling/bloody sock game, and I didn't see it though I listened to every pitch as I drove my family through the night from Omaha to Kalamazoo. We were moving!

The apartment in Kalamazoo was cable-ready, so my first night in my new home was going to be Game 7 of the ALCS. But there was no celebration for my guys, and there was no drama. Kevin Brown got lit up by Johnny Damon and shut down Derek Lowe (both later found their way to the Yankees) and the long Michigan winter was upon us.

But it was in my 3 years in Michigan that I fell in love (sort of) with another team, the Detroit Tigers. During my time there, they went from doormats to league champions. Day-in, day-out, I watched an all-out CF who could actually hit and tear up the bases named Curtis Granderson, and a rookie pitching  sensation named Justin Verlander.

I will cheer like hell for the Tigers should they advance. But first there's CC Sabathia tonight to get the Yankees off the mat, and we'll take it one at a time from there.

Right Place, Right Time on Frontline: The Choice 2012

Much has been made about Big Bird becoming an endangered species should a certain GOP nominee become President, but the defunding of PBS would be a big deal.

Aside from Sesame Street and other educational programming, Antique Roadshow, Austin City Limits, and those quirky British serials, the PBS news department is something that truly preserves the public trust. As stressed in Dan Rather's book, network and cable news have become arms of corporations, slaves to ratings, and in bed with corporate sponsors. (Although some conservatives would have you believe that the Federal government is PBS' primary corporate sponsor)

Only on PBS could you have an even-handed, in-depth 2-hour documentary on the complete lives of the two men running for president, without sponsors, without an agenda, and thus without fear of repercussion. Frontline's The Choice 2012 was Masterpiece Theater indeed.

The program is divided up into alternating segments on each candidate, and it bounces around in time a little since Mitt Romney is significantly older than Barack Obama. The Frontline brain trust is too smart for chapter titles, but I'm not.

1. Whatever Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

The program opens up with Romney's first launch into politics, the 1994 Massachusetts senatorial debate with Ted Kennedy at Faneuil Hall. It shows Romney, a handsome 47 at the time, as very poised and articulate. Ultimately he was deconstructed by the consummate political pro. But Romney was in the game at a high level and learned from his defeat.

Obama's run at Congress in 2000 was a lot less rewarding. In a primary battle to unseat incumbent Dem Bobby Rush (IL-1), he was painted as a bookworm who wasn't black enough to win on Chicago's south side. He had "more degrees than a thermometer" but was a "Harvard-educated fool." Obama lost by 30 points. His political career was at a crossroads, and Michelle wanted him to give it up.

2. Identity Crises

Mitt Romney grew up in a solid family with great schooling in Michigan. His father George is painted reverentially as a self-made, straight-talking, and larger-than-life father figure. A man born on a polygamist compound in Mexico with no college degree became the President of American Motors and moderate Republican Governor of Michigan.

Mitt watched from the arena floor at the 1964 GOP convention in San Francisco when his father walked out during Barry Goldwater's extremist acceptance speech.

Mitt enrolled at Stanford, but the area was rife with the counter-culture of the mid-1960s. Romney was a creature of the previous era and didn't belong there.

"Barry" Obama had no real structure in his formative years. His father was out of the picture, his mother got married and dragged him to Indonesia, and he returned to Hawaii at age 10 to live with his grandparents. He was a "black-looking white kid" without any real family identification.

But his non-affiliation with a single group made him adaptable to all groups. In high school, he became the ringleader of a diverse group of kids that called themselves "The Choom Gang." They were typical laid-back Hawaiians who were very inclusive and smoked a lot of dope.

3. Finding Themselves

Romney left Stanford after one year to go to France for his LDS mission. It was there he knocked on thousands of doors trying to find would-be converts, and learned a lot about rejection. He also saw the dark side of politics from afar as his father George was vilified for his comment about being "brainwashed" by US military leaders regarding the Vietnam war.

In 1968, Romney had a near-death experience in a car accident in France that killed the passenger in the vehicle, the mission's mother. The under-publicized event is said to shape Mitt's life in his bolstered faith, his burning ambition, and overwhelming drive to succeed. His life was spared and he was going to make it count.

Obama enrolled at Occidental College in LA. Again, he couldn't be put in a box. He was the easygoing black kid who was always in Hawaiian shirts and shorts. The international crowd of college was something that "Barry" pulled together.

But at some point he realized that he was just floating along, and he transferred to Columbia University in New York City. It was there he saw the poverty and urban struggle, and decided to get serious about his life. That's when Barry decided to return to his given name, Barack.

After 4 years in New York which remain largely a mystery, Barack took a job as a community organizer on Chicago's south side to get on the ground in the inner city and do good works. But being an outsider and a do-gooder wasn't enough to change anything, so he went to go get a law degree.

4. Soulmates And Successes

When Romney returned from France, his high school girlfriend Ann Davies was literally waiting for him. She had embedded herself with the Romneys during his absence, and they converted her. She and Mitt were married 3 months after his return.

Romney finished his undergrad work at BYU and then went to Harvard Law and Business School. The law degree was what his father wanted, the business degree was what he wanted.

Romney's timing into the business world was fortunate. The "corporate ladder" structure was becoming a thing of the past and now outsiders were being contracted to "consult" and make businesses more cost-efficient from the top down.

Romney was hired by Bill Bain, took a chance on Staples which came up huge, focused Bain Capital on "leveraged buyouts," and the rest is history. Romney made hundreds of millions for himself and his investors.

Obama got a glimpse of future partisan wars while at the Harvard Law School. In a most politically-contentious environment, he became the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, and was known to reach out to both sides. He saw his job was to put out a first-rate publication, and politics didn't figure in.

With that on his resume, Obama could have clerked for a Supreme Court Justice or the U.S. Attorney's office, but chose to return to Chicago to work in the community and teach law. It didn't hurt that while he was a summer associate at a law firm there, he met a young lawyer named Michelle Robinson.

5. Rising Stars

Romney became a Bishop in the Mormon Church, where he realized the tension in that role. He was convincing those to live by the scripture, but at the same time there was the missionary element with a need to help those who needed it most. The LDS credo is "build the Kingdom of God upon the Earth." Romney, as a church bigwig, saw himself as a vessel for that end.

When a bribery scandal engulfed the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, they called in Mitt Romney to save it. Mitt took on the challenge despite Ann's recent diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis.

He lined up corporate sponsors (and lobbied the federal government) for big money and put forward a high-end product. Ann Romney ran with the torch and Mitt Romney stood with the President for the opening ceremonies.

In 2004, Barack Obama was a hardly-known State Senator from Illinois who was somehow selected to deliver the keynote address at the 2004 DNC. It was his famous speech about unity and inclusion, the speech he'd been writing his whole life.

After elected Senator in 2006, Obama rapidly grew bored as a cog in the machine. Since 2008 would be a free-for-all, Obama was advised not to wait and live a life of a career back-bencher (his VP choice comes to mind). He ran on the same thing he'd always preached, breaking down the partisan walls and uniting America.

Hillary Clinton openly mocked Obama's message and turned out to be more realistic, "You can't wave a magic wand and make special interests disappear." Obama's message won out, and in 4 years he went from an unknown state senator to the most famous man on earth. It was amazing enough to think that anything was possible.

6. Health Care

Romney ran for Governor in 2002, and had to assume a socially liberal agenda to get elected in Massachusetts. In the gubernatorial debate against Shannon O'Brien, Romney said, "I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose." She echoed Ted Kennedy's claim that Romney "isn't pro-choice, he's multiple choice."

Romney won narrowly, and took his first elected office at age 55. Like Obama, Romney wasn't interested in wheeling and dealing and the backslapping that comes with the political process. He wasn't a political creature, he was an executive, and he had 800 vetoes over-ridden by the state's predominantly Democratic legislature.

But Romney did get at least one thing done, something major. He found a way to get health coverage for more Massachusetts residents at a lower cost. It was called the "individual mandate," based on an idea from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

Romney got the state government to buy in, but needed federal dollars to get it rolling. Enter old rival Ted Kennedy to procure the money from Washington to funnel to The Bay State. Romney and Kennedy returned to Faneuil Hall to announce the implementation of the law in 2006.

Romney was charming and glib, referring to the 1994 debate like "The Titanic returning to the iceberg." Romney and Kennedy were a Vaudeville duo that night. It was the type of bipartisan effort that has eluded Obama from the start.

Obama was inaugurated in 2008 clinging to the view that polarization could be overcome. Six weeks into his term, in the midst of a great financial crisis, he tried to pass universal health care but couldn't sell it. He eventually watered down his plan to mirror the one fashioned in Massachusetts by then-governor Mitt Romney.

Finally in March 2010, on the 216th vote, the Affordable Care Act ("ObamaCare") passed the House 219-212 without a single Republican vote to what had initially been a Republican plan. It was a party line vote, and a referendum against the President.

It wasn't the victory he wanted nor the change he promised. Being President was about working the system, not changing the system. And the system was changing Obama instead.

7. Changes In Character

Romney decided not to run for re-election in 2006, instead deciding to focus on the 2008 presidential race. He met with with a prominent Iowa GOP delegation in the penthouse of a Boston hotel and they were blunt with him.

They brought up the problem of the Three M's: Mormonism, Massachusetts, and Multi-Millionaire. All three were third-rails to the evangelical, middle-American conservative base.

Mormonism meant polygamy, Massachusetts meant "moderate," and Multi-Millionaite meant "out-of-touch." Ann Romney allegedly stormed out of the meeting.

Romney made a calculated, "political conversion" on abortion. He lost Iowa, New Hampshire and Florida, and dropped out of the '08 race thinking he'd never have another shot.

In 2010, the Tea Party wave led a new freshman class into Congress and the GOP was even more galvanized to thwart Obama's every move. It made him more skeptical, cynical, and ill-tempered.

Even moves hard-right by the President on foreign policy couldn't sway any conservatives. While winding down the Iraq war, he ramped up the secret wars, covert operations and drone strikes. He's the only Nobel Peace Prize winner with a kill list. And that agenda hasn't won any friends among progressives.

The Takeaway

PBS details all the accomplishments in Romney's life. But his campaign, and specifically his campaign against the health care law he created, is symbolic of the candidate he's become. He'll say anything to any crowd, and run away from his achievements to reach his ends, the presidency.

But if he doesn't have a consistent core message, what's driving him besides ambition? And how will he govern if he gets there? The answers seem to be "multiple choice."

PBS shows Obama's pre-presidency resume as considerably thinner than Romney's. It makes the point abundantly clear that he went from unknown to US President in 4 years, not exactly by luck, but as a symbol of hope and change without the experience to practically accomplish what he had promised.

While he has grown in the office and gotten quite a bit done despite the obstruction he's faced, the idealism he represented has been stripped away. If elected to a second term, you have to think that he won't be worried about making any friends on either side.

* Editor's Note: This is not a journalistic work. There are paraphrases and misquotes without accreditation. It is a synopsis, a "Cliffs Notes" if you will, of a brilliant documentary by Michael Kirk and Frontline. And a little bit of opinion from the Backtime Editorial Department, as always.

Well...At Least The Yankees Won

I'll get to the spin in a minute.

When you're stuck in a hotel room in Syracuse, New York, and your team is fighting for the division title on the last day of the season, you make sure you're in front of the TV. So that was the plan, watch the Yankees on TV and stream the debate so I could monitor the proceedings.

The problem was the Yankees were on ESPN, which was blacked out in Syracuse since local cable gets YES Network, but not in my hotel. So I ducked out with a friend for the first few innings to Tully's Good Times.

So I made it back to the room by 9 PM, put the Yankees/Red Sox on WatchESPN on my laptop, and the Presidential debate on the big screen - which only magnified its contents.

Mr. Romney won the debate. He took the fight to the President and the moderator, and his worst moments were no less than net equal. Whether Romney's arguments matched up with anything he proposed prior is another matter. He looked presidential, and as Backtime penned two days ago:

"The issues are crucial and the important men will be at their lofty podiums, and Jim Lehrer will be there to be a PBS above-it-all bastion of journalistic integrity, but don't be fooled. This is all PR. And only one of the two candidates can relate to the public."

The President folded his PR advantage. He wasn't relating to the public, he was Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead. But now the spin part.

First, is the Right more happy that Romney kicked Obama's ass - or are they troubled by Romney's defense of regulation, reaffirmation of his own Massachusetts health care plan, and praise of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, while claiming he would not cut education? Romney Etch-A-Sketched all night and Obama didn't call him on it.

Second, was the Team Obama plan to have Romney talk himself to death to continue to compile soundbites to counter all the policies he's planted on the trail? That would be rope-a-dope, and that might have been part of the plan. But to borrow a wonderful baseball philosophy, it wasn't just one sacrifice bunt to move a runner over, it was many. And each is a missed opportunity for a big inning and the chance to get on the scoreboard.

Third is pure spin, and as far as I could tell it's my own theory. A week ago, the GOP presidential race looked lost and there was real talk of that massive pool of SuperPAC money going to Republican senate and congressional candidates.

Now it's a race again, and while not dead by any stretch, probabilities point to Romney losing. So all that Big Money is back in the Big Race, and not siphoned out to the state and district races. So Romney's debate win may actually help Dem congressional and senate candidates.

I've heard all sorts of post-mortem commentary, comparing this debate to Bush-Kerry 1. The President stood stiff while a seasoned politician framed the debate. The challenger pulled even in the polls, but the President pulled out a close election.

And a close election is what the media wants. Blowouts are bad for business. More papers will be sold, and more TV newshours with garner ratings points.

The first Obama/Romney debate will go down in history. But will it be a turning point, or merely a plot point in the 2102 story?

Debated To Death

There are times when the the 24-hour news cycle is gripping, and there are times we all want to throw in the towel. How many times can we handle the pre-debate analysis? Well here's one more, except this one doesn't pull punches.

It's as if all the cliches are on a loop: "Do no harm," "Frame the argument," "Have a zinger ready." But here's the problem for Mr. Romney - you can't be over-prepared. Then you seem too rehearsed, inauthentic and stiff. Not that Romney's had any problem connecting with people (Backtime's Editorial Department just unloaded an incredulous Al Gore sigh).

Romney's best moments from the GOP debates were actually off the cuff. He dismissed a floundering Rick Perry with more than one "Nice try" and he told Newt Gingrich if he was on his staff and proposed some moon colony he'd be "fired."

Romney has had plenty of time to memorize his talking points, layered arguments, and even a canned zinger or two, but he would have to have a spontaneous moment to do anything impactful. So the bar's been set pretty low.

That seems to be the prevailing view but Romney surrogate Chris Christie, the Governor of my home state, didn't seem to get the memo. Christie was on all three network Sunday morning shows (were they offering free danish?) talking about how the race would be turned "upside down come Thursday morning." Was that a prediction or a pep talk?

The President, on the other hand, has been playing a much more conservative (small "c") game the last few weeks, looking to sit on his lead. Which means now is the time to unload. It will be the first time America sees Mr. Obama with his opponent on the same stage, and should waste no time discrediting him.

Obama has 90 minutes to hit Romney over and over on something that Romney can't possibly defend, his flexibility on nearly every issue. I wouldn't be surprised if the President drops "Etch-A-Sketch" as the soundbite moment that every media outlet runs with.

A few weeks back at the DNC everyone was raving about The First Lady's high-energy speech and President Clinton's fun, educational address. But the most effective speaker was Senator John Kerry, who laid the groundwork for the pummeling that's about to take place:

"Mr. Romney...you'd better finish the debate with yourself."

The issues are crucial and the important men will be at their lofty podiums, and Jim Lehrer will be there to be a PBS above-it-all bastion of journalistic integrity, but don't be fooled. This is all PR. And only one of the two candidates can relate to the public.

Book vs Movie: Game Change

This post was inspired by Julianne Moore's well-deserved Emmy (and bright yellow thing) Sunday night. I thought she was phenomenal in late-90's classics Boogie Nights and The Big Lebowski, though she seemed to disappear after taking a run at FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling in Hannibal.

But she came back in a big way in the 2012 HBO Original Film Game Change. Her portrayal of a certain Alaskan half-term governor took us inside the meteoric rise to national cult figure, the hubris that came with it, all wrapped in the mind of crazy.

But now more to the point of this post, the book Game Change wasn't really about Palin. The actual title of John Heilemann and Mark Halperin's work is Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime.

There are 23 chapters in the book, and Sarah Palin is only the subject of two of them. That's only one more than devoted to John Edwards, who was a factor in the Dem race early on. In fact Palin doesn't even enter the story in person (and only mentioned a couple of times before that) until page 359.

So why did HBO decide to make a film using just a small subsection of the book by the same name?Well, as the long title of the book hints, the story would be way too broad. So why the McCain/Palin angle? The Obama-Hillary heavyweight fight was just as compelling. And the book's ultimate hero is obvious.

In the afterword, the writers state, "And then there is 44. More than any other character, it was Obama who was at the heart of Game Change."

It's probably because Obama's American success story is boring in comparison. Palin went from unkown to unavoidable literally overnight. The American reality mentality now is that anyone can be a star, and when they get there we love to see them torn down, built back up, and torn down again. It's the perpetual story arc.

In fact America has become so attached to the Palin brand, the supply and demand is there for the whole clan to continue to do reality TV for the foreseeable future. The Palins and the American viewers are co-dependants. Thus the telegenics of a TV movie.

The movie seems to check out. The McCain campaign needed a running mate with sizzle to match the heat of Obama, and didn't do their homework on Palin. McCain brain-trusters Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace have backed the story up. Palin's legions feel that she's been scapegoated for the lost 2008 election.

Conventional wisdom is that Palin, though an extremely flawed VP candidate, did not lose the election. Chapter 21 of the book is called "September Surprise" in which McCain totally mishandles the financial crisis of 2008. This is glossed over in the movie.

The focus is on how ill-prepared Palin was for the position she was running for, and ultimately how she changed politics forever. Politicians have always stretched the truth, but the absolute denial of facts plays the country for fools, and the 2012 GOP candidates' seismic-shifting, facts-be-damned narrative wouldn't have been possible without her precedent setting the table. This exchange between Schmidt and Palin sums it up:

Schmidt: [regarding "Troopergate" charges] You can't say you were cleared of all wrongdoing. 

Palin: Why not?
 
Schmidt: Because you weren't. The reports stated that you abused your power; that is the OPPOSITE of being cleared of all wrongdoing. 

Palin: Then why was I told otherwise? 

Schmidt: You weren't told otherwise! 

Palin: And why haven't you released a statement saying that Todd was never a member of the Alaskan Independence Party? 

Schmidt: Because that would be untrue! He WAS a member. 

Palin: He checked the WRONG BOX! He registered BY ACCIDENT and rectified the error immediately! 

Schmidt: He was a member for SEVEN YEARS! I'm sorry, Governor, but there is only a few weeks left in this campaign and you have got to stop saying things to the press that are blatantly untrue; that is NOT the kind of campaign that we are running here! 

Schmidt's role in the movie is definitely outsize in the movie compared to the book, but Woody Harrelson's performance is excellent. He goes from nurturing to placating to puppeteering to excoriating the VP candidate.

The movie, as many movies will do to smooth out a story, takes what were likely a dozen meetings among the McCain campaign staff and condensed them into one. That was before Palin's arrival in the movie, and the story seemed incongruous.

I'm pretty sure John McCain never said, "Then find me a woman." And I'm sure Rick Davis (Peter MacNicol) never checked a shopping list of every woman in GOP politics against Google articles and You Tube videos.

McCain (Ed Harris) is the one who is short-sold in the movie. He's actually the most dynamic character in the book. His legendary temper doesn't come out, and his profanities are kept in check.

In the book he's quoted dropping 11 straight F-bombs on poor Cindy after she interrupted him. And his sly humor is invisible as well, "I'm the only one I know who would go to Iraq to get away from it all." In the movie version, McCain comes across less of a maverick and more of a deferential uncle.

Also Todd Palin seems too benign in the film. It is well-documented that he was a man behind the curtain in Alaska, manipulating and peddling influence, not a nerdy dad with puppy dog eyes.

But Julianne Moore steals the show. She doesn't look like Palin as much as Tina Fey or Gina Gershon, but the nuance is uncanny. The speeches, body language, accent, smile are all spot on. After a little while you forget it's a portrayal. The makeup room meltdown before the Katie Couric interview was chilling. Wallace later said it made her "squirm."

I think that people who love the movie and love to hate Palin, might pick up the book and find it's not what they expect. It weaves the tapestry of a 2-year campaign on both sides. The title Game Change actually fits the movie better than the book, even if the movie doesn't have the same mission as the story that spun it.

Paper Backtime: Marco Rubio, Behind The Music

On June 19th of this year, two dueling Marco Rubio biographies were released on the same day. On the left American Son, the memoir/autobiography of the Florida Senator and conservative rock star. On the right The Rise Of Marco Rubio, the unauthorized biography by Washington Post writer Manuel Roig-Franzia. Which one do you think I read?

Roig-Franzia's work is investigative to put it lightly. The text of the book, including afterword is 244 pages. After that, there are 32 pages of source notes. Much of the professional end is kind of boring, unless you like the hero's ascension through local and state politics. But as Rubio's life story is peeled back layer-by-layer, you can see why he wasn't the VP pick.

Would Rubio have helped Romney's chances? Maybe. Would he have dragged more drama into a ticket already riddled with soap opera? Absolutely. Not that anything necessarily disqualifies Rubio from the job. But the national vetting process would've caught wildfire with all the issues the book details, especially in a 3-month sprint to the finish.

Rubio's story, which is uniquely American by the way, is better deconstructed over the long haul. He could announce in 2015 and let the media and his GOP opponents have at it. What would be massive distractions to the campaign now would be something he and his strategists could tackle individually over the long haul.

Before chronicling the problems with Marco Rubio's own narrative, it's important to point out that he's not Tea Party. Yes he rode the insurgent wave against the GOP establishment in 2010 as he was a massive underdog to Florida's then-Governor Charlie Crist, and incorporated the movement into a landslide victory.

He essentially sent Crist packing to the other side. And Crist's chief strategist, Stuart Stevens, who managed a huge lead into a woeful defeat is doing his unwitting best to unravel Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign.

Rubio was the House Speaker in one of the purplest states in the country. While he wasn't a household name, he was a political animal. He got the Tea Party support because Crist infamously hugged President Obama. Godfather Jim DeMint gave the blessing, but once in the Senate Rubio opted not to join Rand Paul's Tea Party Caucus.

On the whole Rubio's bio is conservative enough, definitively on social issues and mostly (a converted GOP spender) on financial ones. But he's been moderate-to-progressive on immigration, and had to modify his position several times as the GOP candidates tried to out-reactionary each other in the early 2012 debates.

Rubio's mantra is about a family being welcomed in the America, and the land of opportunity made it possible for him to be where he is today. Which is true. Except he wasn't exactly forthcoming with his story's specifics, and it might seem as though it was politicized to raise his profile.

Rubio went on the stump and kick-started his web bio as his family was in exile, fleeing from the thug Castro's Cuba. But the real story is that his parents arrived in May of 1956, a good 2 1/2 years before Castro took power.

And while it's true that after Castro the Rubio family could not return to their homeland, they were immigrants, not refugees. In fact Rubio's grandfather, Pedro Victor Garcia was a proud man. When he realized that he couldn't find good work in the US and was tired of depending on his seven daughters and their husbands, he returned to Cuba in 1959 to make a better living.

If anyone ever scratched their head about what on earth Mitt Romney meant by "self-deportation," this encapsulates it. Garcia actually took a job with the Cuban government (Castro regime) before returning to the US in 1962, attempting to re-enter for good. An immigration judge ordered him deported, but the Cuban Missile Crisis began, and his return to Cuba became logistically impossible though his presence in the US remained illegal for several years until his permanent residency was approved in 1967.

The point here is that Cuban-Americans are held politically in higher regard than other Latino immigrants because of their escape from Communist rule. Again it doesn't diminish the Rubio success story, but the circumstances under which the family arrived from Cuba are not political, and not exploitable for political gain.

There's more family baggage of note. Rubio's sister's husband, brother-in-law Orlando Cicilia, was convicted on a drug trafficking/money laundering deal in 1987. He didn't seem to be a major player, but it was for a major honcho (think Calderone from Miami Vice). He wound up serving 12 years on a 25-year sentence.

How does this affect Marco Rubio, who was roaming in the defensive secondary at South Miami High at the time? Likely not at all. But it became a major dust-up with Univision when they broke the story. Which could be another reason Rubio isn't ready for the national glare, that he reacts hotly and needs time to grow a thicker skin to play the bigger game.

Then there are the corrupt types around him. Rubio's very first fundraiser when running for US Senate was thrown by Alan Mendelsohn, a notorious GOP donor, who later was sentenced to four years in prison for bribery, siphoning PAC funds, and failing to report 600K in income.

And members of Rubio's inner-circle have also found trouble. State Legislator Ralph Arza faced pressure to resign after using racial slurs more than once. And his itimidation tactics later led to a guilty plea in a witness-tampering case. He got six months.

Rubio's other right-hand man David Rivera, is now the US Representative from Florida's 25th district. He has repeatedly been under investigation related to financial disclosures, and possible kickbacks received from gambling proprietors (dog track owners).

Despite Rubio's fierce anti-gambling track record (he saw the destruction of lives throughout his years in Vegas), he and Rivera are best buddies. They were even involved in a foreclosure proceeding for a house they co-owned in Tallahassee, which was quickly rectified.

But many of Rubio's personal finances are co-mingled with his political ones. There are many situations over the years where his RNC card was used to pay for personal stuff, big and small. Rubio always seemed to work the matters out, but it could be interpreted as he was trying to slide some purchases through.

That could be in part due to his own personal financial disclosures, which showed an ongoing debt problem (into low six figures) that could be viewed in direct opposition to the public profile of personal responsibility. In later years, the lucrative sale of property to a campaign contributor also raised some flags.

These items from the Florida political landscape are documented matter-of-factly by Roig-Franzia. Corruption and kickbacks are nothing new to the Florida state politics, or would it be to any other state. It's the price of doing business, and Rubio doesn't come across as a criminal or an angel.

Rubio's religious history is also a zigzag. He was born Catholic, converted to Mormon when his family moved to Las Vegas in his middle school years, became Catholic again when the family returned to Miami, then went Baptist as an adult while eventually settling on Catholic.

His straddling of the line between the different branches of Christianity may also come across as calculated. After all, in order to embrace all of Florida, it would be wise to caucus with the Spanish-speaking Catholics in Miami while simultaneously thumping bibles in the panhandle. Throw in some pandering to rich Jews in Boca (make sure you check for hidden cameras) and you've got the trifecta.

What the book doesn't capture is the charismatic figure and captivating speaker that Rubio has become, you'd probably have to read the other book to tap into that. He is championed by republicans up and down the line, and seems respected by democrats as well.

His endorsement of Romney was tepid (like many), he's kept a fairly low profile throughout 2012, and looks to be gauging which way the future GOP wind blows, so he can adjust his sail accordingly.