“While we are facing true challenges and real obstacles, there is no other nation that I would trade places with. There is no other country that I would rather be.”
Florida Senator Marco Rubio spoke to a packed house Thursday afternoon at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Although not as riveting as the Cruz speech or as well-received as the Christie speech, Rubio was all business, making excellent points concerning the global impact of American leadership.
“I am convinced that despite the bad leadership that we are getting today, we are literally on the verge - if we make a few right decisions - of a new American century.”
Rubio then went on to illustrate a world in which the totalitarian regimes of China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia were left unchecked to make whatever decisions they wished:
“Without American engagement, the world I just painted for you is not only a possibility, it is a real probability.”
The highlight of his speech came when he called out the Obama Administration for its foreign policy failures that have put both the economy and the American people at risk.
“We have a president who believes that by the sheer force of his personality he could be able to shape global events. We have a president that believes that by going around the world and giving key speeches in key places, he can shape the behavior of other nations,” Rubio said. “We do not have the luxury of seeing the world the way we hope it would be. We have to see the world the way it is." He continued, "We need leaders that understand clearly what our role in the world is in an unapologetic way, and we also need to be able to afford it - which means that we need an economy has sustains it.”
On another note, conspicuously absent from Rubio’s address was any mention of immigration reform. Redemption narrative? We’ll soon see.