Marco Rubio insists that he has no desire to be Mitt Romneys running mate but he is taking on one of the main roles of the vice presidential candidate -- that of attack dog.
This week, the Romney camp launched their efforts to reach out to Hispanic voters. Rubio was in near perfect accord with the Romney teams insistence that Hispanics have suffered economically under Barack Obamas administration.
No community values entrepreneurship and small business more than the Hispanic community, Rubio said on Wednesday. Unfortunately, President Obamas failed policies of new regulations, higher taxes, and Obamacare and his anti-business rhetoric have hit Hispanics especially hard. Big government really hurts those who are trying to make it.And with unemployment still abysmally high, the Obama economy is crushing Hispanics' dreams for their children to live a better life.
The Hispanic community cannot afford four more years of double-digit unemployment and higher levels of poverty, Rubio added. Mitt Romney will stop the attacks on job creators, encourage entrepreneurs to chase their dreams, and bring good jobs and a better future to all Americans.
Vice presidential candidates often flop when they fail to have an instinct for the jugular. Whatever his merits as a football player and a politician, Jack Kemp often seemed less comfortable than Bob Dole did when it came to taking the attack to Bill Clinton back in the 1996 election. When Al Gore tapped Joe Lieberman to run with him in 2000, the senator from Connecticut flopped when it came to going on the attack and many pundits felt he came up short in his debate with Dick Cheney.
On the other hand, vice presidential candidates who show no reluctance to fire away often do well. Despite his reputation for being a stiff, Gore pounded George H.W. Bush and Dan Quayle back in 1992 every chance he could and showed no hesitation in roughing up Dole and Kemp four years later.Even George H.W. Bush, the son of a former U.S. senator and a prep school kid, could take off the gloves and rip into his opponents when he was Ronald Reagans understudy in 1980 and 1984.
Rubio has plenty of strengths and weaknesses as a possible running mate for Romney. The junior senator from Florida does not have much in the way of experience on the national stage -- less than two years. Still, he has been focusing on foreign policy, an area where Romney has next to no background. While he won a high-profile Senate race in 2010 over Charlie Crist, Rubio has not exactly fared well in the national limelight with some scrutiny over statements he has made over his familys past.
Still, if chosen to be Romneys running mate, Rubio would be the first Hispanic to ever appear on a national ticket. While Florida has been a major factor in presidential elections in its 167 years of statehood -- just ask Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden, as well as George W. Bush and Al Gore -- no favorite son of the Sunshine State has ever ended up on a major party ticket. With Romneys camp looking to take Florida back from Obama in November, Rubio could help turn the Sunshine State back to red.
There are still drawbacks to adding Rubio to the ticket and the GOP may want to find a candidate with a bit more experience in the national limelight, especially after Sarah Palins rocky road on the campaign trail in 2008. But Rubio seems to be showing that in one area -- hammering the opposition -- he could be an asset as Mitt Romneys understudy.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
