First Take: As Rubio enters race, Bush better beware

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[h=4]First Take: As Rubio enters race, Bush better beware[/h]Marco Rubio's announcement Monday that he's running for president included a generational message and iconic setting that underscores the advantages he has against one-time mentor, and current rival, Jeb Bush.

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USA TODAY's Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page lists four reasons Marco Rubio is worth watching in the 2016 presidential race. USA TODAY


Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks at the International Association of Firefighters Legislative Conference and Presidential Forum in Washington on March 10, 2015.(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)


WASHINGTON — The conventional wisdom used to be that if Jeb Bush decided to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, one-time protege Marco Rubio would demur and wait his turn.
Well, Rubio's formal announcement Monday that he's in the race proves that assumption wrong. Indeed, the generational message the freshman Florida senator delivered and the iconic setting he chose underscores the advantages he has over Bush, who leads in most early national polls.
"In many countries, the highest office in the land is reserved for the rich and powerful," Rubio told a friendly crowd of about 1,000 people in Miami who chanted, "Marco!" "But I live in an exceptional country where even the son of a bartender and a maid can have the same dreams and the same future as those who come from power and privilege."
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He didn't need to say Bush's name — the son of one president and brother of another — to draw the contrast between them.
In a prospective GOP field that is already large and could grow, Rubio is one of the handful — including Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker — now seen as having the credibility to land the nomination. That defies concern about his youth (he's 43), his depth (four years in the Senate) and his ability to raise money — one of Bush's big assets.
But Rubio has significant assets of his own, including a compelling personal story, an optimistic message promising "a new American century" and an earnest manner that connects with audiences. He's broadly acceptable to feuding factions in the GOP. He was elected to the Senate in 2010 with Tea Party support, but as a former speaker of the Florida House he's also in good stead with establishment Republicans.
USA TODAY
Florida GOP begins choosing sides in Bush vs. Rubio




In an NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll last month that tried to test candidates' viability — that is, the percentage of likely GOP primary voters who could see themselves supporting a contender minus the percentage who couldn't see themselves supporting him or her — Walker and Rubio led by far. Bush did a little better than break even. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was in negative territory.
Then there's this: Bush may be married to a Latina, but Rubio is Hispanic himself — and Republicans' hard line on immigration has repelled many voters in that fast-growing demographic group. Rubio's presence on the national ticket, as president or vice president, could build bridges.
USA TODAY
Rubio's changing immigration stance could be liability




That said, Rubio faces challenges of his own. He's untested on the national stage, where every word is scrutinized. He first supported a bipartisan immigration overhaul that included a path to citizenship for some of those now in the United States illegally, then backed away from it. Some Tea Party conservatives who saw his initial support as betrayal haven't forgotten that, nor have the immigration activists who blame him for not following through. A small group staged a protest outside the announcement hall.
And his financial and political base overlaps with Bush's. They live just a few miles apart, and Bush was an important ally when Rubio was rising in Florida politics.
But while Bush's famous last name is helpful in raising money and making political connections, it also creates complications for him. He'll have to address the records of his father and brother in the White House, including the unpopular war in Iraq. As with Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign, he projects the unhelpful image of a privileged political dynasty.
ONPOLITICS
6 things to know about Marco Rubio




The setting Rubio chose Monday spotlighted his own family's story. He announced at Freedom Tower, where immigrants seeking political asylum from Fidel Castro's Cuba were processed. His parents emigrated from Cuba before Castro took power.
The message Rubio delivered emphasized generational change, making an explicit comparison with Hillary Clinton, who announced her candidacy with a two-minute video Sunday. "Just yesterday, a leader from yesterday began a campaign for president by promising to take us back to yesterday," he declared, generating "boos" from the crowd.
"I have heard some suggest that I should step aside and wait my turn," he said, to shouts of "No!" "But I cannot."
Protege no more.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., left, speaks as Rubio and Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., listen during a news conference on immigration reform on April 18, 2013, on Capitol Hill.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Alex Wong, Getty Images)




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