The other day I put up a post noting, a) that Ted Cruz now leads in Iowa, and, b) that the dynamics of the race now make it look as though the junior senator from Texas might–repeat, might–wrap up the nomination in a hurry. Has Marco Rubio proven me wrong by regaining his footing in the polls? To the contrary. In the last few days he’s slipped, not gained.

But you know what? Although I like and respect Sen. Cruz, I still believe Sen. Rubio would make a stronger candidate in the general election. As Jonathan Last argues over at the Weekly Standard:

The theoretical poll match-ups show Rubio with a slim lead over Clinton. I think this vastly understates his potential. Watch Rubio on the debate stage and he looks like a creature genetically engineered in a lab to crush HRC. By dint of his youth and energy, he turns her greatest strengths into weaknesses. He’s a devastatingly good debater. As he showed Tuesday night, he can take a punch. And his political instincts are brilliant….