Sen. Marco Rubio took shots at President Obama’s political resume Tuesday morning.
Less than 12 hours after launching his presidential campaign, the Florida Republican said he is more experienced than Obama was when he started his own campaign — despite the fact that both were first-term senators when they announced their White House intentions.
“Well, I don’t think there is any doubt about that in terms of the years, but also what we did,” Rubio said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “I mean, he was, as I said, he was backbencher in the Illinois legislature; I was the speaker of the Florida house, the majority leader, the majority whip.”
“I’ve been in the Senate now for 4-1/2 years. I’ll have been in the Senate for six years where I’ve spent a significant amount of time every day working on intelligence issues and also on foreign relations,” Rubio added.
Rubio is expected to face a criticism similar to what Obama faced when he ran in 2008 — that both are too fresh and young to lead the country.
In his announcement speech Monday night, Rubio touted that the nation needs just that: a fresh face.
“Just yesterday, a leader from yesterday began a campaign for president by promising to take us back to yesterday,” Rubio said, referring to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign launch Sunday. “Yesterday is over, and we are never going back. We Americans are proud of our history, but our country has always been about the future.”
According to a RealClearPolitics average of polls, Rubio places seventh in a crowded Republican field. With roughly 7 points, he is decently far back from the leader and his state’s former governor, Jeb Bush, who has 16.5 points.
