Senator Rubio’s Presidential Campaign Announcement
Thus speaking at this beautiful Mediterranean-style building built during the 1920s, which is considered by Americans of Cuban origin or descent to be the “Ellis Island of the South,” was a smart move for a presidential candidate who wants to emphasize the importance of the American dream and his rags-to-riches story.
Senator Marco Rubio gave an eloquent 18-minute speech calling for a generational change in America’s political leadership. He stated the following:
“The time has come for our generation to lead the way towards a new American century …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. Before us now is the opportunity to author the greatest chapter yet in the amazing story of America. We can’t do that by going back to the leaders and ideas of the past. We must change the decisions we are making by changing the people who are making them.”
Senator Marco Rubio, Republican from Florida, greets his followers at Miami’s Freedom Tower with his wife Jeanette after he announced his bid for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election race on April 13, 2015.
The eloquent Senator from Florida made it clear that he favors a stronger foreign policy by saying the following:
“And if America accepts the mantle of global leadership, by abandoning this administration’s dangerous concessions to Iran, and its hostility to Israel; by reversing the hollowing out of our military; by giving our men and women in uniform the resources, care and gratitude they deserve; by no longer being passive in the face of Chinese and Russian aggression; and by ending the near total disregard for the erosion of democracy and human rights around the world; then our nation will be safer, the world more stable, and our people more prosperous.” Senator Rubio pointed out that “when America fails to lead, global chaos inevitably follows.”
Who is Senator Marco Rubio?
Marco Rubio was born on May 28, 1971 in Miami, Florida, the third child of Mario and Oria (García) Rubio. His parents were Cubans who came to the United States in 1956 and became U.S. citizens in 1975. Rubio’s maternal grandfather, Pedro Víctor García, also came with his parents to America.
Senator Rubio’s family was Roman Catholic, even though from age 8 to age 11, he attended his family the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or the Mormon Church while they lived in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Senator’s father, Mario Rubio, worked as a bartender at Sams Town Hotel and his mother as a housekeeper at the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino.
Marco Rubio received his first communion as a Catholic in 1984, before moving back to Miami with his family a year later. He was confirmed and married in the Catholic Church.
Rubio completed the ninth grade at West Miami Junior High School. This writer was principal of this junior high school for two years before Marco Rubio came to his former school. Marco Rubio attended South Miami Senior High School and graduated in 1989. This writer was superintendent of the South Central Area in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools and supervised South Miami Senior when Rubio was a student at that school. This writer could have never imagined that one of his students would one day run for president!
Marco Rubio received a football scholarship at Tarkio College for one year from 1989 to 1990 before enrolling at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida. He transferred to the University of Florida and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1993. Many years earlier, this writer attended the University of Florida and also received a degree in political science in 1966.
Rubio graduated cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law in 1996. Like many other poor students, Rubio accumulated $100,000 of student loans, which he paid off in 2012 thanks to the earnings from his books. While attending law school, Rubio interned for Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. He also worked on Republican Senator Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign. He served as a City Commissioner for the small city of West Miami before being elected to the Florida House of Representatives in early 2000.
Six years later, Rubio was selected Speaker of the House of Representatives of Florida, becoming the first American of Cuban origin elected to that post. Rubio wrote a book titled 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida’s Future, in an attempt to implement them in his new position as Speaker of the House. The ideas included in his book were compiled with information that he acquired while traveling around the state and talking with citizens. This was done through what Rubio calls “Idearaisers.” Many of the issues that he pushed for in his first year as Florida Speaker of the House are based from ideas found in his in book.
After Senator Mel Martinez, Republican from Florida, resigned, Marco Rubio announced that he would run for his seat in May 2009. At the time, no one thought he could defeat Governor Charlie Crist, who also announced that he would run for the Senate. Initially Rubio was trailing by double-digits against Crist. However, Rubio campaigned all over Florida as a conservative and won the Republican primary for the Senate.
Charlie Crist decided to run as an independent, so Marco Rubio faced two opponents for the general election. One of them was the democratic candidate Kendrick Meek and the other the independent Charlie Crist. Initial polls favored Charlie Crist. However, Rubio campaigned just as hard for the general election. He won in November 2010 with 48.9 % of the vote.
U.S. Senate
Upon arriving in Washington, Senator Rubio hired Cesar Conda, a former lobbyist and domestic policy chief adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, as his chief of staff.
Senator Rubio voted against the Budget Control Act of 2011, which included mandatory budget cuts from “sequestration.” He stated that defense spending should never have been linked to taxes and the deficit. Senator Rubio has always supported a strong military to protect the national security. In August 2012, Senator Rubio said the following: “You’re constantly being given false choices, if you want to save national security, you have to agree to raise taxes that will hurt our economy. Well, that’s a false choice and quite frankly it’s a destructive one.”
In October 2011, Senator Rubio co-sponsored the Reducing the Size of Federal Government Through Attrition Act, which would have reduced by 10% the size of the federal bureaucracy by 2015. However, the bill was not voted on in the Senate which was dominated by Democrats.
In November 2011, Senator Rubio and liberal Senator Chris Coons, Democrat from Delaware, co-sponsored the American Growth, Recovery, Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Act (AGREE Act). The bill would extend many tax credits and exemptions for corporations investing in research and development, equipment, and other capital. The AGREE Act would also provide a tax credit for veterans to start a business franchise, permit an increase in immigration for certain types of work visas.
In 2013, Rubio was part of the bipartisan group of senators called “Gang of Eight,” who wrote a bill on comprehensive immigration reform. In January 2013, Senator Rubio proposed a plan providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States. Rubio’s plan included fines, back taxes, background checks, and a lengthy probationary period. He supported the Dream Act, if passed by Congress, and not by an Obama executive order.
This action angered many Tea Party and conservative supporters who felt betrayed by Senator Rubio since, when he ran for the Senate, said he was against amnesty. Rubio has since retreated from this position. At the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in 2015, Senator Marco Rubio said that his biggest lesson from the experience was that Americans would not support comprehensive immigration reform until the border is completely secure. Of course, Obama has no intention to seal the border.
Rubio was selected to deliver the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s 2013 State of the Union address, which was a big honor. It was the first time the Republican response was delivered in English and Spanish.
In July 2013, Senator Marco Rubio and Senator Ben Cardin, Democrat from Maryland, introduced a bill called the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2013. The legislation would require federal agencies to monitor and regularly report on the performance of foreign assistance programs based on specified goals and metrics. The reports would be published. Senator Rubio stated the following: “America’s foreign assistance programs need greater transparency to ensure that they are advancing our values and interests overseas.”
In 2014, Senator Rubio asked Pope Francis “to take up the cause of freedom and democracy” in Cuba after helping negotiate the normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba and the release of Alan Gross and the return of three Cuban spies, one of whom had two life sentences for conspiracy to assassinate four Brothers to the Rescue pilots. These Americans of Cuban origin flying small planes were shot by two Cuban MiGs by direct orders from Fidel Castro and Raul Castro while going over international waters. This horrible crime has remained unpunished.
On May 10, 2015, the bloody dictator Raúl Castro met with Pope Francis in the Vatican to thank him for his assistance in normalizing relations with the United States.
Senator Rubio, along with every other American of Cuban origin in Congress from both the Republican and Democratic parties, has been a strong opponent of President Obama’s normalization of diplomatic relations with Cuba and removal of the oppressive communist regime from the list of terror organizations. Rubio has also taught a political science course at Florida International University before and during his Senate career.
Committee assignments in the Senate
- Committee on commerce, science and transportation
- Committee on foreign relations
- Select committee on intelligence
- Committee on small business and entrepreneurship
In April 2014, Cesar Conda resigned his post as chief of staff in order to lead Rubio’s Reclaim America PAC as a senior adviser. He will remain as a part-time advisor to Senator Rubio. He placed second among potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates in an online poll of likely voters conducted by Zogby Analytics in January 2015.
Political positions
Senator Rubio has conservative views on fiscal and social issues. His Senate votes in 2011 and 2012 earned him perfect ratings from the American Conservative Union.
Fiscal
Senator Rubio supports legislation to limit federal spending growth to the per capita inflation rate. He voted against President Obama’s stimulus package of 2009. He supports legislation to balance the federal budget, including a balanced budget amendment. Rubio supports saving Social Security by preventing projected future deficits in the program. He believes in reforming the program since he believes that it is economically unsustainable in a short term. Senator Rubio has stated that the program should have a higher age to start benefits for workers who are more than ten years away from retirement in order to account for the fact that Americans living longer.
Senator Rubio has said that he supports research and development in space exploration and funding to promote technological innovation, which he perceives as critical economic development. He supports extending president Bush tax cuts and believes no taxes should be increased during a recession. The Florida senator opposes the capital gains tax, pointing out that it is double taxation, as well as the estate tax. Rubio supports a flat rate federal tax.
Senator Rubio spoke at the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland.
Social
Senator Marco Rubio, along with 22 other Republican senators, voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, stating that he largely supported it but objected to certain new provisions in the bill. Senator Rubio is pro-life. He strongly opposes Roe versus Wade and believes that “right to life” is a fundamental one.
On March 14, 2013, Senator Rubio once again stated his opposition to same-sex marriage. He said at the Conservative Coalition Political Action conference “that states should have the right to define marriage in the traditional way”. Senator Rubio opposed the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court due to “her case history and testimony regarding the Second Amendment at the state level, eminent domain takings and the so-called constitutional right to privacy that resulted in the Roe v. Wade decision”. The National Rifle Association gave Senator Rubio a rating of B+ for his stance on the issue of gun control.
National security
Senator Marco Rubio has said that Islamist jihadist terrorists present the greatest threat to the United States and that these Islamic terrorists are determined to impose their beliefs on the world. He wants to increase funding for the Armed Forces due to the multiple threats the nation is facing abroad
Climate change
Senator Rubio has stated that he does not believe that human activity is causing climate change. He is opposed to legislation that would tax carbon since that would hurt the economy.
Personal life
In 1998, Marco Rubio married Jeanette Dousdebes whose parents came from Colombia legally. They have four children. Senator Rubio and his family live in the city of West Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The family attends Christ Fellowship, a Southern Baptist Church, as well a Catholic church. Marco Rubio and his children are baptized Catholic.
In an interview in 2012, Senator Rubio stated the following: “I’m a Roman Catholic. I’m theologically in line with the Roman Catholic Church. I believe in the authority of the church, but I also have tremendous respect for my brothers and sisters in other Christian faiths. I recognize, as the Catholic Church does, that there are excellent teachings of the Word throughout other denominations. The elements of salvation are found in these churches as well.”
Three Books written by Marco Rubio
- 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida’s Future. Regnery Publishing. 2006..
- An American Son: A Memoir. Sentinel HC. 2012..
- American Dreams: Restoring Economic Opportunity for Everyone. Sentinel HC. 2015.
Senator Marco Rubio has written the following about his life in his campaign website:
“When I was elected to the United States Senate in 2010, I set a steadfast objective for myself while in office: to help bring the American Dream back into reach of those who feel it is slipping away. That’s the goal line I strive toward with my every effort, and it’s the measure I use to keep score.
The reason I’m so passionate about restoring the American Dream is because I’ve lived it myself. My parents came to America from Cuba in 1956 and earned their way to the middle class working humble jobs – my father as a bartender in hotels and my mom as a maid, cashier and retail clerk. By their loving and powerful example, I learned the importance of work and family, and developed the belief that all things are possible in America.
I have spent most of my life in West Miami, and live there today with my wife Jeanette and our four children. One of the reasons I love this South Florida community so much is the incredible diversity of people I count as my neighbors. There are those in the middle class, those striving to make it there, and those fortunate enough to have climbed beyond it. There are homes led by heroic single moms, two hard working parents, and even homes with multiple generations living together, like my sister’s, which housed not only her husband and children but also my mother.
My neighbors helped shape my impression of the American Dream, and it wasn’t long after I earned my bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and my juris doctor from the University of Miami Law School that I felt drawn to serve them in public office.
I started as a City Commissioner for West Miami before being elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2000, and then Speaker in November 2006. Before taking this post, I authored the book 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida’s Future, which was based on conversations I had with Floridians at “idearaisers” that my colleagues and I hosted around the state. As Speaker, I helped enact many of the ideas in this book.
I was proud to be a champion for limited government at the state level, but after seeing the impact of our successes there, I wanted to take my ideas for conservative reform to where they were needed the most: Washington, D.C. When I launched my campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2009, I was expected to lose big to my better-funded and better-known Republican primary opponent. Yet with a come-from-behind victory, the people of Florida elected me on the promise of bringing conservative ideas to the United States Senate.
Since arriving in Washington in January of 2011, that’s exactly what I’ve done. I’ve fought against the Washington establishment’s big government vision for America, standing up to ObamaCare and opposing budgets that encourage more debt at the expense of job creation and lasting prosperity.
With my placements on the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; the Committee on Foreign Relations; the Select Committee on Intelligence; and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I’ve advocated for oversight and reforms to key government functions, vital measures to keep our people safe, and whenever necessary, have served as a check against the Senate’s Democratic leadership.
I haven’t stopped there. I’ve also led a bold offensive to restore the American Dream through 21st century conservative reforms. My ideas are based on the simple truth that the American economy has changed significantly in recent decades and that our policies and institutions must change too if we are to access the possibilities of the 21st century. I encourage you to read and view the speeches outlining my proposals, which are available on my website.
I also encourage you to check out this speech which places each of these reforms into the lives of real Floridians. Just like them, my reforms would also benefit you and your family. They would give you your own set of keys to the most inclusive and dynamic economic engine ever conceived: the American free enterprise system. When that system is allowed to function as it was designed to, and when every American can access it, widespread prosperity is inevitable.
With the exciting possibilities of this century, I can’t help but be an optimist. But to attain our potential tomorrow, there is work to be done today. That work is why I ran for office. I believe that with a smart limited government approach, Americans can come together to revive the American Dream, bring it into reach of more people than ever before, and usher in an American Century even more brilliant and prosperous than the last.”
Senator Marco Rubio stands with his wife Jeanette and four children at the announcement of his candidacy for president in April 2015 at Miami’s Freedom Tower.
Will Senator Rubio win the GOP presidential nomination?
Jonathan Martin and Ashley Parker wrote an article entitled “Marco Rubio’s Immigrant Story and an Aging Party in Search of a Spark” which was published in the New York Times on May 8, 2015. The reporters wrote that at a recent event in the state of Iowa, Jim Hallihan, a former 70-year-old white Iowa State basketball coach liked what he heard from Senator Rubio. He praised Senator Rubio’s youthful optimism and his eloquent testimony to the opportunities America offered to him. Hallihan stated the following: “The day of the older white guy is kind of out,”
Senator Rubio has been campaigning in front of overwhelmingly white Republican audiences from Iowa to New Hampshire. He has improved his ranking among the Republican presidential candidates. The reporters explained that Senator Rubio’s candidacy seems to confirm that in the United States anyone can rise without the benefit of connections or wealth. The fact that Marco Rubio comes from parents who came from Cuba and who worked as maid and bartender has impressed Republicans voters.
Martin and Parker pointed out that Republican voters are overwhelmingly white and that a New York Times/CBS poll conducted in May 2015 revealed that 68% of Republicans think America is ready to elect a Hispanic president. “The same things that ignited Democrats about Obama are what will ignite Republicans for Rubio,” said Ed Failor Jr., an Iowa Republican strategist. Andrea Szewczyk, 51, a Republican and a schoolteacher in Romeo, Michigan, who was surveyed in the New York Times poll, said she believed that Senator Rubio’s ethnicity could excite the electorate, much as she said Barack Obama’s identity did. “We’d get some Democrats voting Republican because of it,” she said
Peters wrote that Democrats expressed concerns, not only about whether Senator Rubio, 43, a son of Cuban immigrants, will win over Hispanic voters, but also about the sharp generational contrast to Hillary Clinton, who will turn 69 before the election. As her supporters remember, Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton for the nomination in the 2008 elections after drawing similar contrasts with himself. Patti Solis Doyle, who ran Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign for most of the 2008 race, said that Senator Rubio “could have the ability to nip away at the numbers for the Democrats.” She believes that Rubio could allow Republicans to regain a “reasonable percentage” of the Hispanic vote. Ms. Doyle stated the following regarding Senator Rubio: “He is a powerful speaker. He is young. He is very motivational. He has a powerful story.”
Zev Chafets, a Fox News contributor and a writer, wrote an article entitled “Why Marco Rubio will be 2016 GOP presidential nominee” on Facebook on May 20, 2015. He stated the following: “It’s way too early to predict the winner of the GOP presidential nomination. But opinion writers are paid to be live dangerously and so I am willing to hazard a hunch. I think the candidate will be Marco Rubio. For one thing, he’s going to have enough money. In his past races Rubio has received contributions from, among others, the Koch Brothers, the Club for Growth and Goldman Sachs. Miami billionaire Norman Braman is prepared to help bankroll Rubio in 2016. Last week Larry Ellison, the Oracle founder and, according to Forbes Magazine the third richest person in America, announced that he is going to host a Rubio fundraiser at one of Ellison’s mansions in California. “
A billionaire, not mentioned by Chafets, who is a strong supporter of Senator Rubio, is José “Pepe” Fanjul, the sugar magnate. His brother, Alfonso “Alfie” Fanjul, supports the Democrats and in that manner whoever wins is indebted to them since both receive millions in annual sugar subsidies for their sugar plantations and mills in Florida.
Chafets believes that Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas casino magnate, may support Rubio. He gave Newt Gingrich at least $20 million dollars. Support for Israel is Adelson’s biggest issue. Senator Rubio is opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state under current conditions and is a supporter of Israel and its prime minister.
Chafets explained that Democrats feel that the Hispanic vote belongs to them. However, Democrats have never run against a Hispanic presidential candidate. In addition, Rubio is very intelligent and sophisticated as he demonstrated at a recent gathering of the Council on Foreign Affairs, impressing many in a skeptical audience with his mastery of complex foreign policy and intelligence issues. Such expertise will be important in the general election since Senator Rubio will be able to make the case against the Obama/Clinton dismal record of foreign policy misjudgments and disasters.
Chafets wrote the following: “A lot of GOP political pros are excited by something else—Marco Rubio’s exceptional set of electoral assets. He’s young (43, the same age as JFK), good-looking (ditto) and he has an up-from-the-bottom immigrant story no one else can match. Rubio is not filthy rich (unlike the ravenously greedy Clintons) and he comes from Florida, a must-win state. Jeb Bush is a Floridian too, but he is neither young nor dashing and his biography does not include a mom who worked at Walmart.”
Chafets pointed out that Marco Rubio is a Hispanic candidate who can actually speak Spanish unlike Ted Cruz or the Democrats’ highly touted vice-presidential aspirant Julian Castro. The flip side is the issue of illegal immigration. Some Republicans have seen the Florida senator as soft on this issue. He explained the following “There are usually not enough hardliners to determine the nominee—as John McCain and Mitt Romney demonstrated—but the party can’t win a general election if right-wing Republicans don’t turn out in large numbers. That has been the knock on Rubio, but it appears to be changing.”
Rush Limbaugh spent ten minutes on his show praising Rubio recently. He described how the Senator had “run rings” around the sophisticates at the Council on Foreign Affairs. Chafets concluded by stating the following regarding the influential Limbaugh: “So far he has been a strong supporter of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, whose plucky stand against the unions reminds El Rushbo of his idol, Ronald Reagan; and of Texas Senator Ted Cruz, whose uncompromising conservatism appeals to Limbaugh’s take-no-prisoners temperament. Marco Rubio has now been added to that list of favorite sons.”
Jim Meyers wrote an article titled “Nine Reasons Why Marco Rubio is a Strong Presidential Candidate” on April 13, 2015. The reporter explained that Marco Rubio would be a strong candidate for president. These are his reasons:
“1. His fundraising prospects are good. He has hired a leading GOP fundraiser — Anna Rogers, finance director for American Crossroads, Karl Rove’s political advocacy group. She will lead the effort to raise at least $50 million for a campaign. It is also significant that Rubio is one of only four potential GOP candidates invited to a gathering hosted by major Republican donors Charles and David Koch. Romney and Jeb Bush were not invited.
2. He’s the son of Cuban immigrants. Rubio would likely garner a larger share of the Latino vote in the general election than recent GOP candidates. Poor showings among Hispanic voters have hurt Republicans in past elections.
3. Rubio would expand the voter base among all immigrants. Rubio has bucked a GOP trend and backed a plan providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States, although he has more recently backed away from some of the provisions.
4. He hails from Florida. With California and New York solidly blue and Texas solidly red, Florida stands as the most significant swing state and the key to winning a presidential election. Look no further than the 2000 race when a handful of votes in the Sunshine State gave George W. Bush the win over Al Gore.
5. He is getting an early start in what could be a primary battle. While the GOP presidential field is expected to be crowded, so far only two other candidates have officially announced that they are running: Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Rand Paul (since then three other Republicans have entered the presidential race: retired business executive Carly Fiorina, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former governor Mike Huckabee).
6. Rubio’s Tea Party credentials are solid. The Washington Post has referred to him as the “crown prince” of the Tea Party movement, and he has earned perfect 100 ratings from the American Conservative Union.
7. His new book put him in the spotlight. Rubio has been on tour to promote American Dreams: Restoring Economic Opportunity for Everyone. It outlines his proposals for addressing a number of issues including economic security and income inequality.
8. He is articulate and would fare well in presidential debates. Political observers have praised Rubio’s rhetorical skills and he was chosen to deliver the official Republican response to President Barack Obama’s 2013 State of the Union address.
9. Rubio has considerable political experience. Before joining the U.S. Senate, he served four terms in the Florida legislature and had stints as Speaker of the House, Majority Leader, and Majority Whip. And those who maintain that he would not be a formidable candidate after just one term in the Senate need to be reminded that Obama had been in the Senate barely two years when he announced what would be a successful run for president.”
Senator Marco Rubio spoke at a Republican convention in Georgia.
Jeremy W. Peters wrote an article entitled “A Hillary Clinton Match-Up with Marco Rubio Is a Scary Thought for Democrats” which was published in the New York Times on May 22, 2015. Peters explained that people use words like “historic” and “charismatic,” phrases like “great potential” and “million-dollar smile.” People who hear the Florida Senator are moved to tears by “an American-dream-come-true success story.” There is a sense of anxiety by some Democrats. One said, “Marco Rubio scares me.” Democrats are concerned of the danger, the prospect of a head-to-head general-election contest between Senator Rubio and Hillary Clinton. Among those worried about Rubio are former president Bill Clinton who fears that Rubio could win many Hispanic voters as well as winning Florida’s 29 electoral votes.
Peters wrote that Democrats fee that Senator Rubio’s heritage and youth could be particularly dangerous to Hillary Clinton. Senator Rubio is calling himself a candidate of the “21st century, not the 20th,” by pointing out that Hillary Clinton’s long career against her and encouraging voters who may desire a change of direction.
Peters concluded his article by saying that in Florida, Democrats, who have seen Marco Rubio’s rise, warn against playing down his strengths. Former Governor Charlie Crist, who lost to Rubio in a 2010 Senate race, said he admired how Marco Rubio told the story of his immigrant parents — his mother a maid, his father a bartender — and how they worked hard so that he could succeed. “It’s hard to get more compelling than that,” Charlie Crist said.
Conclusion
While it is too early to say that Senator Marco Rubio will be the Republican Party nominee for the 2016 presidential election or that if he wins the nomination he will be elected president, there is no question that the Florida Senator will be a strong contender for the White House. His Hispanic heritage, good looks, youth, rhetorical skills, intelligence, knowledge of foreign-policy and national security issues, fundraising ability, charisma, and conservative views on fiscal and social issues are expected to help him gain voter support.
The first in a series of articles about the candidates
