Voters who tuned in to the last Republican debate before tomorrow's Super Tuesday primary may have finally witnessed a fog lifting from this exceedingly strange campaign. The party's leading candidate - he is still that, even here in Massachusetts - took a licking. And it happened to be U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio who did the most to expose the emptiness of Donald Trump's rhetoric.
There are several examples to choose from. But nowhere was this on stronger display than in an exchange between Rubio and Trump about Obamacare.
The substance of Trump's plan for replacing the federal health care law seems to be the elimination of restrictions on health insurers to allow them to sell plans across state lines.
It's a familiar proposal, long favored by conservatives, and entirely sensible. But our single-sentence summary above probably does more to explain the concept than Trump could manage in that debate. He seemed incapable of explaining his own health care proposal, beyond the repeated call to "remove the lines around the states."
Pundits loved the part of the exchange where Rubio, who was faulted for repeating himself in the last debate before the New Hampshire primary, noted that Trump was doing exactly that.
But the more telling part of the exchange was a simple request from Rubio toTrump:
Please, tell us what your plan is.
The audience is still waiting.
Yes, this campaign has had entertaining moments. But Massachusetts voters who head to the polls tomorrow, even those desperate to express their anger and send a message to Washington, must bear in mind that America is at a deadly serious moment, and it demands serious leadership. That's why this paper has endorsed Rubio, who offers the best chance to rise above the gamesmanship.
The threat is rising abroad. At home a Supreme Court seat sits vacant, economic growth is lagging, and voters deserve answers to their questions. Those who are incapable of providing them, or who are unwilling to, aren't qualified to lead this nation.
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