National Journal Looks at GOP VP Hopefuls -- Including Marco Rubio

Reid Wilson at National Journal offers an interesting and in-depth look at the leading Republican vice presidential hopefuls. Wilson gives good insight on what Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is looking for in a running mate and there are some leading possibilities including John Thune, Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell. Wilson also has some insight on Marco Rubios chances of ending up on the ticket:

Perhaps the biggest elephant in the room is also the youngest -- Sen. Marco Rubio, the Florida conservative whose presence on the national scene has some Republicans hoping they can repair damaged relations with Hispanic voters. Rubio's advisers insist he is neither interested nor expecting to be asked, but they have put him in a position to make the list.

Rubio has worked to establish himself as a communicator of the GOP's national message, and until Romney picks a running mate, everything Rubio does will be viewed through the prism of a potential vice presidential candidacy, his advisers recognize. They consciously sought to carve out Rubio's own areas of policy expertise last year, in areas like human trafficking and government spending (he sent a letter to President Obama last week that got more press attention than a similar missive from any other senator would have received), so that he could more credibly argue that not every action was driven by a lust for higher office.

Rubio's aides zealously guard his image and reputation. Once in office, Rubio's emergence onto the national scene was handled as carefully as Hillary Clinton's or Barack Obama's, the two celebrity senators who wanted to both take advantage of their stardom and establish good working relationships in a chamber rich in tradition and unkind toward young upstarts who haven't paid their senatorial dues. Any challenge to Rubio's family history, a central part of his appeal to an eventual national audience, meets with a harsh response from a team of communications and political advisers who are far more experienced than the average freshman senator.