There's an understandable tendency not to take Donny Deutsch too seriously. He can come across not as a credible political analyst but as a guy more interested in his abs and biceps and the next lady at the next Hamptons cocktail party. But let's give Donny his due: as an ad man, he at times offers interesting insights on politics seen in terms of brands and marketing. He also serves as a credible bellwether for a certain segment of the East Coast Dem donor class.
And so it was noteworthy that on today's Morning Joe, Deutsch declared that the string of scandals surrounding Hillary "really, really puts a dent in her candidacy and I really believe people are going to want to turn the page on Hillary Clinton." In contrast, Deutsch depicted Rubio as the candidate that people strongly associate with the future, making his candidacy "easy to manage. All he's got to say is 'future, future, future, future.'"
Does this mean that Deutsch would endorse Rubio if he becomes the Republican candidate? Not necessarily. There is the pull of habit, the milieu in which Donny circulates, and other considerations that could ultimately lead Deutsch to fall in line behind Hillary. Still . . .
DONNY DEUTSCH: The more macro situation, and you have this obviously Benghazi and E-mailgate. People are tired. People are just going to be tired of this stuff. Whether this specifically sticks, and they will get past this, you just get the feeling as you look at Rubio's numbers, and 50% of the people or more say he's the future. A future candidate. People are going to want to turn the page. If this is what's going to follow Hillary Clinton, one after the other versus unemployment, versus foreign policy, versus all the things that matter to me and you and you and you.
I think this really, really kicks a dent in her candidacy. It's not this: it's the next one and the next one, and I really believe people are going to want to turn the page on Hillary Clinton
. . . I want to bring up the most important thing in Rubio. And you've already got, like David, how easy this campaign is going to be to manage. When they ask what candidate stands for the future, Scott Walker was 12%, the other guy was 11%, he was 50%. All he's got to say is future, future, future.
