Marco Rubio Is Putting Together His Presidential Campaign

ABC News reported Friday that Rubio has taken a number of tangible steps to build a campaign apparatus, including hiring a top fundraiser, preparing a tour of early primary states, and telling his advisers to assume he's in the race.

"He has told us to proceed as if he is running for president," a top Rubio aide told ABC.

Many observers wondered whether the increasingly likely candidacy of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) would box Rubio out of the presidential contest. Bush, whose father and brother recently served as president, has a higher profile than Rubio and the two would presumably share many of the same Florida-based GOP donors.

But Rubio insisted at a Wednesday breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor that Bush won't impact his own thinking on the race.

"Ultimately, I know I need to make a decision in due time if I want to be able to mount a credible campaign for the presidency, which I believe we can do irrespective of who else is in the race," Rubio said.

Accordingly, ABC reported Rubio has scheduled a whirlwind tour of early presidential primary states. These stops, which he's ostensibly making to promote his new book, "American Dreams: Restoring Economic Opportunity for Everyone," will start in Iowa and then take him to New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina, and Florida.

Even in the book itself, Rubio appears to be framing his political brand for a national audience. In the introduction he argued the presumed Democratic presidential front-runner, Hillary Clinton, would have a disastrous effect on the country if she won.

"The election of Hillary Clinton to the presidency, in short, would be nothing more than a third Obama term," Rubio wrote. "Another Clinton presidency would be a death blow to the American dream."