This is truly a time to prepare for the future, to set the stage.  Maybe not this month or even this year, but this election at this point in history.  Special people come along only occasionally, yet they seem to be created by fate just when they can make the necessary difference.  Think of our founding fathers, of Lincoln, of Churchill, of Truman, and of Martin Luther King and Ronald Reagan.  Few of them were predicted to become “great,” but when we needed their talents, they came through for us.

While Marco Rubio hasn’t yet reached their stature, he’s the right man at the right time.  He would help any of our candidates defeat President Obama, and historians may look back later and call this election the one that saved (or lost) the Republic.  And he would then be in position to move to the top of the ticket in eight or even four years, after having provided sound conservative advice and counsel to the President.  Even if he accomplishes nothing else, he will have done a great service for our country.  And even if Obama wins, by running for Vice President Rubio won’t have hurt himself regarding the 2016 election, when after a full Senate term he’d be appropriate for the top of the ticket if he wished.

Contrary to current ruling class opinion, the August, 2011, crop of Republican presidential candidates is not second class, the junior varsity, radicals or extremists–together, they represent a broad swath of the American public’s outlook on many issues.  Individually, they have positive characteristics that would serve them well as President, but they all have some general election shortcomings, and don’t forget, it is essential, the first order of business, that WWW/XXX be elected in 2012.

The most sure and controllable way to secure that goal is for “Rubio” to take the place of “XXX,” because pairing any of them with Rubio overcomes those shortcomings.  It could be nearly as important as the name that replaces WWW.  (After the election, their positive characteristics make most of the remaining candidates perfect fits for various positions within a WWW/Rubio administration.)

This is true primarily because Rubio compellingly articulates the conservative perspective as well as anybody and far better than most; if we want to win a battle of ideas, those are essential skills for at least one of our top two candidates.  A compelling spokesman creates interest in our message powerfully and irresistibly, turning a mere audience into listeners.  And to be articulate means, after all, to be able to convey ideas clearly, so that those listeners not only hear, but understand.  Used the right way by a competent campaigner, Rubio delivers on both counts, and he does it with a minimum of negative tics.

Of course there are others who can say the words, who know them and even believe them.  Some of those people are credible and truly inspiring, like Michael Williams of Texas (who in my opinion is a close second to Rubio on this front).  Others, including some of the front-line candidates standing up at the Republican debates, not so much.  Of the available VP possibilities of the right age and situation, Marco Rubio is far and away the best.

If we were facing Bill Clinton this time, I’d be less concerned.  Not that we’d easily win–realistically, I figure that Bill Clinton, given his personality and MSM support, could defeat most of us while standing on his head and smoking a cigar–but a loss would only be a loss, not the second installment of the beginning of the end of the post-Reagan booming economy and our Constitutional government.  Clinton may not be a good person, but he wasn’t a bad President once he got a Republican Congress to give him some guidance.  If that were the case with Obama, we could afford to wait while Rubio received four years of seasoning in a Republican Senate–he will surely be our next Presidential candidate, barring the disclosure of some incompletely-expunged adolescent sex crime conviction on his record–but because the situation tells us we must win this time, we can’t hold back.  We must use our best weapon.

If what I wrote above is true, where does that leave us, logically?  It leaves us with WWW/Rubio as the obvious ticket for 2012, in all likelihood to be followed by Rubio/YYY in 2020, and (assuming YYY is chosen carefully) YYY/ZZZ in 2028.  All very long-range, I admit, but when we look at the young conservatives currently getting experience in the House and Senate, it’s not all that farfetched.  All those folks for whom people like Ann Coulter pine to jump into this election actually fit much better in the picture as supporting members (at whatever level or position, inside or outside the administration) of a coming conservative wave and future candidates for President than as Presidential or VP candidates this time.  Think Rubio/Ryan-2020 followed by Ryan/Cruz, just for a quick, easy to come up with example.  By then the names will have changed, but the conservatism won’t, if we do it right this time.

Often, the selection of a VP is not such a big deal.  Sure, Sarah Palin undoubtedly helped John L. McCain exceed expectations in 2008, but that pick had more effect on HER life than it did on the election (due to his mismanagement of the campaign, not because of anything she did or didn’t do).  She might still be a little-known former Governor of Alaska had he not picked her, and because he picked her too early, she is still trying to find the right place to ripen.

Although it’s always dangerous to say “It’s different this time,” I really think that it is.  Marco Rubio is just so obvious a choice for both today and for tomorrow that I fervently hope he is picked for VP by our Presidential nominee, and that he accepts.   It isn’t too early for him to run for Vice President, because of his demeanor, his intelligence, his knowledge and his history.  He is at least as experienced as was Barack Obama when he became President, so the accusation of “inexperienced” won’t be effective against him as Vice President, even among the MSM.  His personal story is an inspiring one, and he seems to have excellent political instincts.

He will become an important force in the Senate if he stays there, but he can do a lot more for the country if he can move up now.  Marco, if your country calls, please pick up the phone.  And Mr. WWW, whoever you turn out to be, please place the call.