And yet, this makes us want him more. Florida Senator Marco Rubio said Wednesday that, were he offered the GOP Vice Presidential nomination, he would turn it down, as he has work to do in the Senate:
"I'm not going to be the vice presidential nominee. I'm not focused on that. I'm focused on my job right now and the answer is going to probably be no," he said at The Atlantic's Washington Ideas Festival. He quickly added "The answer's going to be no" when he realized he'd left the door open a crack.
"I don't crave it. I wanted to be a United States senator. I didn't run for the Senate as an opportunity to have a launching pad for some other job," he said.
"Throughout the history of American public policy-making, the United States Senate has provided the genesis for some of the greatest things that this country has ever done," the freshman senator continued. "And if I dedicate the time to it, the seriousness to it, I have a chance to be a part of something like that. You're never going to get to that stage if you're focused on it as a launch pad for something else."
His answer is disappointing, in the sense that many (including me) would love to see him take on this role, but Rubio has once again proven why he's a rising star in the GOP. Such humility and integrity rarely finds its way to the Senate, and he's paving the way for a brilliant future as a true leader who doesn't jump ship two years into his first term as a Senator to run for executive office.
Because we know how well that's been working for us...
Keep up the good work, Sen. Rubio, and perhaps we'll see you on the ticket in 2016.