Tom Cotton is running for President. In one fell swoop, he's managed to place himself in the small circle of front-runners.
Far from being a failure, Tom Cotton has performed a brilliant act of provocation. He managed to rope in 46 of his colleagues to boot, who were still high off the fumes of last week's Bibimania. The fact that several squishes have now expressed regrets is just gravy!
Two links and further thoughts below.
It's all upside for Tom Cotton.
He will now be courted by the media and be making regular appearances on the Sunday talk shows.
He will start raking in serious contributions.
He will be able to position himself as the true conservative hero opposed to President Obama.
As a true combat veteran, he can appeal to and mobilize the veterans who feel abandoned by their country.
Great diary this morning on a million-dollar contribution Cotton received from the Emergency Committee for Israel.
The amount of money involved, and the timing of the letter suggests that this whole operation has been meticulously planned for some time. This is not a Ted Cruz moment of demagoguery, where Senators are left in a legislative impasse. This is all about raising Tom Cotton's profile. It feels like a very professional operation.
Also, interesting profile in yesterday's New York Times.
Note that the man is the youngest senator and a combat veteran. Very JFK.