Jeb Bush: Marco Rubio should be GOP’s VP pick
The heavyweight former Florida governor says Rubio should be on the ticket. (Flickr: Gage Skidmore)
By JORDAN FABIAN
Channel: Politics
The vice presidential speculation surrounding Marco Rubio just got kicked up a notch.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), who endorsed Mitt Romney Wednesday, said the freshman Florida senator would be the strongest choice the Republican nominee could make for running mate.
Bush, the brother of former President George W. Bush, brushed aside the possibility that he would join the ticket himself, instead telling the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he has a strong preference who should:
“Marco Rubio,” he said, admitting that his proclamation would probably get him in trouble with the freshman Florida senator, who once served as a volunteer on Bush’s governor’s campaign.
Bush described Rubio as “dynamic, joyful, disciplined and principled.”
“He is the best orator of American politics today, a good family man. He is not only a consistent conservative, but he has managed to find a way to communicate a conservative message full of hope and optimism,” he said.
Picking Rubio, a Cuban-American, would be a significant move for the GOP; he would be the first Latino on a major party’s presidential ticket in U.S. history.
The jury is out on whether he would be able to bring in a significant amount of Latino support for the Republican Party nationwide, but polls show he could help on that front in his home state of Florida.
Rubio, however, repeatedly denied interest in the vice presidential ticket and has said he would turn down the nomination if asked.
The senator appeared at an event on Cuba at the conservative Heritage Foundation on Wednesday and laughed off the question just hours before Bush tossed out his name.
“In Cuba?” he said when asked by a moderator whether he would join the GOP ticket. “Actually, I was hoping to be the first ambassador to a free Cuba. Thanks for asking though.”
