Larry Sabato Puts Marco Rubio in Second Tier of 2012 GOP Hopefuls

Noted political pundit Larry Sabato weighed in on the Republican field for 2012 -- and put U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio in the second tier of presidential possibilities. While Rubio was behind the front-runners, he was included at the same level of more established candidates, including former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and U.S. Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana.

The new senator from Florida is much more likely to end up on the 2012 GOP ticket as vice president, noted Sabato. It will be a shock if he is not on the eventual nominees shortlist. Hes got it all: high office from one of the premier swing megastates, good looks and rhetorical flourish, and ethnic membership in arguably the most significant political group of the 21st century, Hispanics. Rubio is new to the national scene, but had a career as speaker of the state House of Representatives -- no minor position. And after Barack Obamas meteoric rise, Democrats would be in no position to question Rubios experience. However, similar to the circumstances facing Chris Christie, when youre hot youre hot, and it is difficult to keep the griddle warm. Will Rubio find a way to achieve quick prominence in the Senate, and decide the Republicans need him in order to defeat Obama in 2012? Once again, Obama has blazed the trail for very junior senators, so this is not as unthinkable as it once might have been.