Republican Debate #3: Will Rubio make his Marco on The Donald karaoke show?

What will The Donald say next? Billionaire Donald Trump has asked for secret service protection, bullied CNBC about the debate format and gets another prime time television slot on Wednesday to show off his thin skin and lack of subtlety, rail at Mexicans, threaten to deport them, call them rapists and rubbish his opponents. The third Republican debate airs from Colorado on CNBC at 8 pm Eastern Time on Wednesday, so that’s 5.30 am IST on Thursday. [caption id=“attachment_2483808” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Marco Rubio/ Reuters[/caption] Both parties have seen aggressive gatecrashers over the decades but even insiders are astonished at a man who can fund himself forward and say absolutely anything he likes. That Trump is still an “outsider” does not change. Businessman yes, golden logo yes, loudmouth yes but President of the United States of America? Well…Err…Gulp! Marco Rubio, the telegenic Cuban American, is enjoying a new surge on political betting site PredictIt where people put down real money on political odds. Rubio is trading at 29c, ahead of both Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. See accompanying screenshot 5pm EST Tuesday. Wise guys in the party generally prefer candidates who spin around their ideological centre rather than the fringes but the Republican inside track has not figured how to deal with Trump’s blonde bomb-in-a-dance club method. What they do know is this: Ben Carson has been energised by a new double-digit lead over Donald Trump in Iowa, according to new polls released on Monday. There is fresh volatility in a chaotic field and one-time front-runner Jeb Bush under pressure to prove he’s still a viable [caption id=“attachment_2486636” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Latest bets on Republican debate[/caption] candidate for the party’s nomination. Rubio’s stars are on the up despite being short on money. Carly Fiorina’s numbers are climbing and Rubio is playing it like the Spaniards play tennis on slow red clay. Staying in, let the other guy make some mistakes. These ratings coincide with a surge in the share of registered Republican voters who believe it’s more important for a presidential candidate to have “new ideas and a different approach”. Almost 6 out of 10 Republican voters say they are happy with their candidate long list. The next occupant of the White House will need a giant share of the 130 million or so votes. Right now, no one’s saying Trump will get more than 60 million but nearly a third of Republican voters pick Trump as their candidate, followed by 22 percent who choose Ben Carson. Hard to believe but there are 15 Republicans still in the fray, and ten will take the stage in Colorado. Trump has dominated the headlines, Rubio and Bush the detailing. Of these, Jeb Bush, brother of former President George Bush, is the ultimate insider — son of a former President, brother of another — but hasn’t shone in the debates; his answers are complex while Trump belts out one liners tailor-made for social. [caption id=“attachment_2485548” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Donald Trump and Jeb Bush/ Reuters[/caption] Trump’s swagger and snarl speak to an America beset by problems that can be resolved by a 140-character tweet. Illegal immigrants? Sure, deport them! Border security? Yeah, Build a great wall on the border and make Mexico pay for it. Media? You know, it really doesn’t matter what the media writes as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass. Taxes? I know all the hedge fund guys, they’re my friends. Jeb Bush, unable to outsnarl and outshout in front of the microphone until now, has launched his most blistering attack on Donlad Trump, indicating that he plans to drill gaping holes into Trump’s tin roof foreign policy plank. Bush is establishment, Rubio is the Republican Obama of 2008 vintage. “We’ve got a president that the American people supported based on the fact that he was an eloquent guy,” says Bush. “ And he had nothing in his background that would suggest he could lead.” Meant as a slight to Obama, such lines from Bush are music for Rubio’s supporters. It adds to the reflected legitimacy of a shared working class background, eloquence and proof that lack of experience can go two terms in the White House. Both Bush and Rubio have pull among Hispanic voters, whom Republicans want to draw away from Democrats. Both men speak fluent Spanish. In New Hampshire recently, Rubio said the election is “a generational choice” and political leaders in both parties are “out of touch”. With that, Rubio has taken a wide swipe at opponents across the aisle too. Bernie Sanders is the oldest at 74, Hillary Clinton is 67, Jeb Bush 62 and Marco Rubio is the youngest at 44. Obama was 47 when he won the 2008 Elections. Ronald Raegan was the oldest ever President ever when he started in the White House. He was 69 in 1981.