This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/06/rubio-response-state-of-union-address
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Marco Rubio to deliver GOP response to Obama's state of the union address | Marco Rubio to deliver GOP response to Obama's state of the union address |
| (4 months later) | |
| Florida senator Marco Rubio will deliver the Republican reply to the president's state of the union address on 12 February, party leaders announced Wednesday. | Florida senator Marco Rubio will deliver the Republican reply to the president's state of the union address on 12 February, party leaders announced Wednesday. |
| The opposition reply follows the annual address in which the president brags about the past year's accomplishments and delivers a terminally dull list of goals for the year ahead. Anyone still awake afterward, and up for more politics, can catch Rubio this year. | The opposition reply follows the annual address in which the president brags about the past year's accomplishments and delivers a terminally dull list of goals for the year ahead. Anyone still awake afterward, and up for more politics, can catch Rubio this year. |
| The Rubio pick was widely anticipated. The Florida senator is a 2016 presidential prospect whom the GOP is keen to get in the national spotlight. As a Cuban-American, Rubio embodies the party's post-election commitment to inclusiveness. Also he's a dynamic, forceful speaker and seems unlikely to deliver the kind of anticlimactic reply that won Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal ridicule four years ago. (N.B.: President Obama's speech that year, a month after his election, was not technically a "state of the union".) | The Rubio pick was widely anticipated. The Florida senator is a 2016 presidential prospect whom the GOP is keen to get in the national spotlight. As a Cuban-American, Rubio embodies the party's post-election commitment to inclusiveness. Also he's a dynamic, forceful speaker and seems unlikely to deliver the kind of anticlimactic reply that won Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal ridicule four years ago. (N.B.: President Obama's speech that year, a month after his election, was not technically a "state of the union".) |
| "I'm honored to have this opportunity to discuss how limited government and free enterprise have helped make my family's dreams come true in America," Rubio said in a statement. "I look forward to laying out the Republican case of how our ideas can help people close the gap between their dreams and the opportunities to realize them." | "I'm honored to have this opportunity to discuss how limited government and free enterprise have helped make my family's dreams come true in America," Rubio said in a statement. "I look forward to laying out the Republican case of how our ideas can help people close the gap between their dreams and the opportunities to realize them." |
| The Rubio pick is not only good per se; it also make sense for the dearth of alternatives. | The Rubio pick is not only good per se; it also make sense for the dearth of alternatives. |
| Fellow 2016 presidential prospect Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, is at odds with the national party because he can't stop bad-mouthing them. Paul Ryan has already delivered the reply (2011). Same with former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell (2010). (The last time the Republicans called on a repeat speaker to deliver the reply was Bob Dole in 1996.) Former Florida governor Jeb Bush is called Bush, a liability. Former veep hopeful Sarah Palin's brand is so diminished that not even Fox News wants her on. | Fellow 2016 presidential prospect Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, is at odds with the national party because he can't stop bad-mouthing them. Paul Ryan has already delivered the reply (2011). Same with former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell (2010). (The last time the Republicans called on a repeat speaker to deliver the reply was Bob Dole in 1996.) Former Florida governor Jeb Bush is called Bush, a liability. Former veep hopeful Sarah Palin's brand is so diminished that not even Fox News wants her on. |
| Rubio's national profile has been growing steadily since he joined the Senate in 2011. He has emerged as the Republicans' front man on immigration reform. He fearlessly joins debates over foreign policy, as when he told John Kerry at his confirmation hearing last month that "a couple weeks" more of bombing in Libya would have stabilized the country. Rubio's name was bandied last year as a potential Mitt Romney running mate. | Rubio's national profile has been growing steadily since he joined the Senate in 2011. He has emerged as the Republicans' front man on immigration reform. He fearlessly joins debates over foreign policy, as when he told John Kerry at his confirmation hearing last month that "a couple weeks" more of bombing in Libya would have stabilized the country. Rubio's name was bandied last year as a potential Mitt Romney running mate. |
| The senator's name recognition is sure to expand with this speech. Tens of millions of people watch the state of the union address; 38m watched last year, and 62m tuned in for George W Bush's 2003 fairy tale about Saddam Hussein's WMDs. | The senator's name recognition is sure to expand with this speech. Tens of millions of people watch the state of the union address; 38m watched last year, and 62m tuned in for George W Bush's 2003 fairy tale about Saddam Hussein's WMDs. |
| The reply speech is sometimes thought to be a stepping stone to the presidency, and indeed that has been the case for three of the last seven presidents: Gerald Ford, George HW Bush and Bill Clinton. | The reply speech is sometimes thought to be a stepping stone to the presidency, and indeed that has been the case for three of the last seven presidents: Gerald Ford, George HW Bush and Bill Clinton. |
| Far more numerous, however, are the rising political talents who saw their stars fade after answering the call to rebut. | Far more numerous, however, are the rising political talents who saw their stars fade after answering the call to rebut. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |