Is Rubio too good to be true?

Democratic governors still largely behave that way, but many of their Republican peers have followed their national party to the right and now run far more ideological administrations.

[...] in a pivotal debate here on Saturday night, the old solidarity among Republicans in charge of statehouses made a comeback of convenience.

Chris Christie and John Kasich and former Gov. Jeb Bush are competitors but they had no qualms about creating an ad hoc alliance that might be called Governors Against Callow and Outrageous Candidates.

In nearly every season, there is a media favorite whose standing with journalists relates not to ideology but to what reporters think a good candidate should look and sound like.

On paper at least, he’s the potential GOP nominee who scares Democrats the most.

A young Cuban American (age: 44) would presumably have a nice edge on either of the Democratic candidates (ages: 68 and 74), and Rubio loves playing the generational card.

After Christie’s clinical takedown during their encounter at Saint Anselm College, this suspicion is now front-and-center in the Republican campaign.

When you’re president of the United States, when you’re a governor of a state, the memorized 30-second speech where you talk about how great America is at the end of it doesn’t solve one problem for one person.

Ah, yes, governing is about running a government, even if Republicans aren’t supposed to like government.

Bush had by far his best debate, for once taking on Trump without backing off, and he has looked comfortable, even happy, in his final town hall meetings around the state.