Rubio on Bahrain

How come guys like this don't run for president?

Jennifer Rubin of WaPo notes that Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) took a stand against indiscriminately selling weapons to autocratic allies. He wrote to Secretary Clinton,

I appreciate Bahrain’s concern about Iranian ambitions in the region and the potential threat to the country’s stability, but I believe the government’s response to the disturbances actually threatens the country’s long-term stability, jeopardizes United States' standing in Bahrain and the Middle East, and plays into the hands of Iran. . . . It is in that context that I urge the administration to review the propose arms sale to Bahrain and to delay any item that package that could be used to disrupt, monitor or otherwise restrict the Bahraini people’s right to peacefully assemble and petition their government.

As Rubin comments, "the ability to apply American values in specific contexts and to see, in essence, all the pieces on the chessboard is not a skill everyone has." Her hope is to see Rubio elected Vice President. If he's as cogent on other issues as he is on how American should deal with autocratic allies, he'd be an improvement over the last few nationally-elected politicians.