Rubio went from stud to dud in one week

Marco Rubio accomplished something remarkable this week: He managed to go from stud to dud in just six days.

Last week, Florida's affable and truant senator was the toast of the political world. Jeb Bush had moved out of his way. The Republican establishment was rallying behind Rubio. He seemed poised for greatness.

Only no one told Republican voters.

Rubio failed miserably on Super Tuesday, finishing third in essentially a three-man race.

Last Friday, I chose Rubio as the "winner of the week." This week, he's been reduced to making creepy insinuations about the size of Donald Trump's genitalia, and national political writers are penning his "what went wrong" campaign obits.

In racing terms, Rubio went from gaining ground on the leaders to slamming headfirst into a wall.

He's won one state, Minnesota, making him this year's Rick Santorum ... except less successful. Santorum had won four states by this point in 2012.

Now Rubio is left hoping his buddies will use the GOP convention to "broker" a deal in which Trump is somehow stripped of his frontrunner status. Yay, democracy!

The upside? Rubio has still probably boosted his chances of being someone's running mate or mounting a higher-profile campaign in 2020 ... which I've suspected was his goal all along.

V.P. Rick Scott?

The latest political rumor is that Trump is supposedly eyeing Florida Gov. Rick Scott as his running mate.

I'm not sure I've heard a worse idea. Seriously, it ranks up there with Smell-o-vision, subprime mortgages and hair-in-a-can.

Presidential candidates pick running mates because they can woo voters. Rick Scott has the charm of a doorstop. He won his races with big ad buys, not personally connecting with voters. Can you imagine Robot Rick trying to court soccer moms in Ohio or indie retirees in New Hampshire?

My theory is that Trump -- a savvy businessman and negotiator -- started the rumor, hoping Scott might endorse him before the Florida primary.

Really, though, if Trump's looking for a Florida running mate, Rubio makes more sense with his charisma, youth and one-state win.

This story was originally published March 5, 2016 at 6:57 PM with the headline "Rubio went from stud to dud in one week ."