Nominee Rubio's "Captain Queeg" act gives JEB! 2016 some artificially sustained life, at least through South Carolina

Ok so maybe Rubio won't exactly come in first in New Hampshire anymore, or if he does then it will be just barely.  The punditocracy universally (even on Fox) says Rubio is "wounded" after he was taken down by "Fatuous & Furious" in last night's clown cage match exhibition of the Cirque du GOP in Manchester, New Hampshire. Christie was flawless in his "swan song" for the Cirque du GOP, providing his best night of entertainment in his last one before he leaves the troupe and returns to his local New Jersey show next Wednesday. Of course the punditocracy could be wrong. Maybe the audience at next Tuesday's Big Tent Center Ring event, which now looks to be a circular firing squad among the clowns if you listen to the experts, will feel sorry for Rubio, especially after seeing his adorable family last night.

One thing seems certain, though. JEB! won't have to do the inevitable just yet, even with a "respectable" single digit finish in New Hampshire. He gets a pass to limp on to the South Carolina show, and maybe even entertain the nation by bringing out his retired clown brother, the King of Clowns, W., to stump for him during the Palmetto engagement of Cirque du GOP.  It will certainly be the first time W. (not to be confused with It, another retired clown often mistaken for him) has been on the circuit for Cirque du GOP since 2008.

Will, or can, the JEB! 2016 show get as nasty with Ringmaster Rubio as W.'s did there back in 2000 in a legendary mud wrestling match with John McCain?  We shall at least see. Bushes are capable of almost anything when cornered.

(NBC News) - Jeb Bush told NBC News' Chuck Todd on Sunday that his campaign will continue no matter how he finishes in New Hampshire, the state where he has committed most of his time and campaign resources.

"We'll beat expectations. And we'll be in South Carolina. And I'm excited by that," Bush said on "Meet The Press." "In fact, of the governors at least, I'm the only one that has a national campaign."

A 7News/University of Massachusetts Lowell New Hampshire tracking poll released Sunday morning shows Bush in fourth place with 10 percent support. He is trailing Cruz, 13, Rubio, 14, and Trump, who leads the field with support from 36 percent of GOP voters in New Hampshire.

The former Florida governor has targeted Marco Rubio by arguing that the first-term senator is not ready to be commander-in-chief. Bush and his rivals have argued that Rubio's oratory skills do little to prove he is ready for the White House, and sought to highlight his tendency to rely on talking points during the debate Saturday night.

"I envy candidates who can repeat the same thing over and over again. My brother was good at that," Bush said of President George W. Bush. "But to be so scripted as you can't have the agility to show, you know, the leadership skills that you need to be president of the United States I think became clear last night." Read more.