WHEN ATTEMPTS TO MANUFACTURE CONSENT GO BIZARRE

Not that you asked, but...

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has added his name to the list of prominent Republicans who say they are not running for president.

There hasn't been much speculation about Scott, who's still learning how to be governor, running.

But that didn't prevent the question from coming up at a news conference on hurricane preparedness Monday....

Betty Cracker, a Floridian, has a list of other things with popularity at Scott's level that are also not running for president (e.g., genital warts).

Am I wrong to see this as a common Republic tactic to try to flip a few low-information voters? By suggesting that a controversial Republican is actually so well liked that people want him to run for president, they partly neutralize a controversial GOPer's negative press, at least in the eyes of people who aren't paying a lot of attention. My sense is that that's a big reason they keep mentioning Paul Ryan as a potential presidential candidate (though I think they also really dig him and think "real Americans" agree).

In Scott's case, I don't know which reporter asked the question, but it seems like a blatant act of suck-uppery.