LITTLE ROCK — EVER SINCE Marco Rubio came out of nowhere-certainly not the Republican establishment in Florida-to become one of his party’s bright hopes on the national level, his star has waxed and waned. And sometimes gone into eclipse. Mainly because he’s said he’s not interested in rising too far too fast, and, strangely enough in an American politician, actually seems to mean it. As if he understood the dangers of coming into national prominence till he’s more comfortable with it, more experienced, and ready to deal with its daily pressure to say anything as long as it’s politically expedient.
Nor has Senator Rubio, conservative favorite that he is, shown much interest in paying the usual obeisances to all the transient passions of right-wing politics, including the hysteria that the immigration issue can induce among otherwise sensible-seeming Americans. Strangely enough for a rising young politician of great promise, he resists the customary price of instant popularity-the sacrifice of a little personal dignity now and then to court the crowd.
Not since Arkansas’ own Dale Bumpers declined an invitation to join the long and eager chorus line auditioning for Walter Mondale as his running mate in 1984 can we recall an act of such simple self-respect in a national figure.
The same sense of simple human dignity and unassuming integrity was notable in Marco Rubio’s remarks to this confab of Latino officials. He would not trade on his ethnic heritage, but he didn’t forget it, either. He spoke simply, reasonably, not as a hyphenated Cuban-American but just as an American, a level-headed citizen aware of where he had come from but not obsessed by it. There is nothing quite so impressive these days, or any days, as a display of quiet good sense in the midst of the over hyped circus that American politics can be. Certainly in a presidential election year. No wonder he’s so refreshing.
Editorial, Pages 14 on 06/26/2012