Will Rubio still be a major player in four years?

>> all right. cool. with us now, the chief white house correspondent for "politico," mike allen with a look at the "playbook." good morning.

>> good morning and happy friday.

>> there it is. not quite as enthusiastic as usual.

>> happy friday!

>> there it is. let's talk about marco rubio and his brand. that's what you're writing about this morning. he was on the cover of "time" as unveiled by rick stengel here yesterday. he's giving the republican response to the state of the union address . you all are saying there's some concern he might be overexposed.

>> yeah. politics, you n hollywood, want a little curiosity. people are getting a lot of marco rubio now. one of the toughest challenges for senator rubio over the next four years, if he wants to run for president, is four years is a very long time to have a target on your back. and he's the apparent republican front -runner at this point. and so everyone, republicans and democrats, are going to be gunning for him. now, the cover that rick stengel unveiled on " morning joe " yesterday that calls him "the republican savior," senator rubio trying to dial things down with a very clever tweet @marcorube y@marco @marcorubio tweeted "there is only one savior, and it is not me. #jesus.

>> i didn't need that clarification, but go ahead.

>> as an image branding guy, do you like what he's doing?

>> i completely agree with mike. you could not set up failure more than this situation. a guy who has not earned it, clearly. once again, this guy, he's been a senator for 18 months. to call this guy a savior where there's really been no accomplishments at this point, you're almost guaranteeing failure. i mean, i couldn't agree with mike more. i mean, just, whoa.

>> so he pulls back now for a while.

>> i would tell him to back off except that tweet shows that he's not getting it.

>> yeah. to your point. oh, thanks for clarifying that.

>> i think it was really needy. sorry.

>> i think four years from now, he is going to be very much in the background. he'll be a player, but he's not going to be the lead contender.

>> real quick, kelly, how is he viewed inside the senate chambers, a young guy compared to guys that have spent their careers there. how do they look at rubio?

>> reporter: i think he's got credibility because of how hardee's been working on issues like immigration which do have political peril for him. one of the interesting things about 2016 is he would be up for re-election to the senate seat if he want it had. that changes the political dynamic. he's also tried to do some of the hard work. he was the last member of the new class to give a speech on the floor. and by that i mean that's a significant gesture within the senate to not be the first one running to the microphone when he first came to the senate was acknowledged and respected by some of his colleagues as not trying to be too much of a rising star . so while he is from the outside internally, he's tried to play sort of the political relationship game with more subtlety within congress, and that has been part of the reason he's been so supported by some of his fellow republicans. and liked to a great degree by democrats. he was part of one of the bipartisan actions yesterday talking about the mental health piece with respect to the whole concern about guns. what he's doing on capitol hill has been widely praised because he's done it very carefully and quietly.

>> mike allen , it's a really interesting piece up on "politico." good to see you. have a good weekend.

>> you, too. and willie, rubio advisers conscious of this after the state of the union , he'll be working, as kelly said, on immigration.