Marco Rubio is brilliant. I’ve always thought and said so. When this whole process started, I had three top choices and one of them was Marco Rubio. It’s not just because I agree with him on pretty much everything, especially immigration, but it’s because of what he can do.

Rubio can talk.

Now, Trump can talk too, don’t get me wrong. But that’s not the kind of talk I mean. A good salesman is a good salesman, sure. I’m a good salesman. I know this because I used to be in sales. There’s a good deal maker, that’s a thing. It’s basically a salesman who sells himself instead of the product. That’s Trump.

But there’s a different kind of person that I’m thinking of. It’s someone who speaks right to you. Right through the crap. Right through the noise. Right to you. Reagan was one of those rare types. Liberals love to mock the revering of Reagan on the right, but it’s warranted not just by his actions but by his ability to reach people. We who were reached remember it. Barack Obama has that. I’m sorry, he does. Maybe not so much now, in year eight. But in his primary? You better believe it.

Marco Rubio has that. It’s really amazing. And sad, I think. He was undone by the fact that nobody was looking for hope or being uplifted or being spoken to meaningfully this election. Still, what’s done is done and now Rubio is out. Not just out of the race, he’s out of political office altogether, he says. But it doesn’t change who he is, what he believes, or how well he communicates it. And that’s why I know what I would do if I were him.

First, I’d exercise the freedom of no longer being a seeker of public office. I would open my mouth and tell people exactly what is what. Some of Reagan’s best speeches were when he was speaking on behalf of someone else. Do that. That’s what I would do. Speak for the cause of Americans.

Marco Rubio can be the advocate for the ideas and ideals he holds dear, and which are the best ideas for helping the most Americans achieve the greatest amount of success and happiness. That is what we all want, after all. The most good for the least amount of harm. The most liberty for the least loss of freedom. The upside of the deal. I would speak for that.

Second, I would take on the greatest debate America has this election: immigration. It is time for Rubio to give voice to the large and growing segment of the conservative and Republican base that is not enamored of Trump’s isolation rhetoric. I like immigration. I think moral, sensible people agree. I think Marco Rubio is one of those moral, sensible people. He doesn’t have to worry any more about gotcha questions or winning stupid debates. Tell the truth about immigration, do it without apology, and when the media tries to trip him up or claim he said something different during the primary, ignore them. You don’t have to answer to them any more, Senator. You don’t even have to speak to them. Speak to the American people instead. Tell the truth. That’s what I would do if I were you.

And finally, I would endorse the ever-loving hell out of Ted Cruz. And I’d do it honestly and without any self-compromise like the kind Christie endured with Trump, and without any humiliation and self-beclowning like the kind Carson suffered with Trump. I would say “I like Ted Cruz. He’s a conservative and will support conservative principles. He will make wise supreme court nominations and work for the liberty and prosperity of all Americans. But most of all, most of all, he is our chance to stop Trump. That is imperative to the preservation of our republic. I endorse him in this great and grave task. As should anyone who ever believed in me or my candidacy.”

I would say that because it is the truth. Marco Rubio doesn’t have to play games with the press anymore. He can talk to directly to the people. It’s what he was born to do. He should just tell Americans the truth. They need to hear it.

It’s what I would do if I were Marco Rubio.