We could do a lot worse than Rubio. I’ve got major reservations after his immigration fiasco, but he’s pretty solid across the board outside of that. Rubio is far better than Jeb or Christie. I’d rather see Cruz or a sitting governor run. I also would like to see a little more seasoning before Rubio’s ambitions grow beyond a Senate run. Guys like Walker, Pence and Cruz have significant life experiences to prepare them for the next step. Rubio failed in his last effort on the big stage.
The whole immigration will be off the table in 2016 because whatever is going to happen will be done already. It will be a “has been” issue. So I don’t think that should be a deciding factor for a primary one way or the other.