Despite the fact that the State of the Union should be the president’s night, Senator Marco Rubio’s delivery of the GOP response seems to have stolen the show – but not for the reasons you might think.
On radio this morning, Glenn talked about the speeches given by both Rubio and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), deeming the night “the beginning of the battle for the GOP.” But before getting into the substance of the issues, Glenn couldn’t help but bring up the now infamous water bottle incident that occurred towards the end of Rubio's speech.
“The water thing was just, Good Lord, man. What do you have – the world's shortest table and it's like 40 feet away,” Glenn joked. “It was a Jindal moment. It was a Bobby Jindal moment where you're like, okay, I think that pretty much did it. I mean, was anybody else thinking that?”
It is obviously understandable that his mouth could have been dry and he needed a drink of water, but the whole situation ended up being remarkably more awkward than it had to be.
“Without even saying something, he should have said, ‘You know what, America? I've got to get a drink of water, man. I've been standing here for a while waiting for this guy to shut up, and I need a drink of water. Sorry. I'm going to just take it and drink it,’” Glenn said. “Who hasn't been in a conversation where you're just in the middle of the conversation, you're like, ‘Man, my mouth is so dry, I have got to get a drink of water. I'm sorry.’ That's the way you do it.”
Pat pointed out how out of character the moment was for someone as seasoned as Rubio. “It's weird for Rubio, too, because he's usually pretty comfortable. He's slick. He's polished. He's seasoned, even though he's only been around for a little while, he never comes off that way,” Pat said.
For those of you who may have missed it, HERE is one of many GIFs that has been created to memorialize the moment.
From a content perspective, Glenn did not have too much of an issue with anything Rubio said, but he is concerned about the Establishment GOP’s increasing influence.
“If I were the GOP, if I were John McCain, I'd be like, you've got to get Rubio, man. We've got to get Rubio. We have to pull him into the progressive because he's the perfect shill for us,” Glenn said.
“Remember how much we loved Chris Christie at the beginning,” Pat added. “I sense the same thing may happen with Rubio.”
“I hope not but I sense that,” Glenn said. “He's becoming the face of the GOP.”
Rubio’s rising stock is not all bad given that he is one of the few people are able to straddle the line between both Republicans and conservatives, but there is a sense that the Establishment is trying to co-opt Rubio’s star power for their own gain. They will offer him positions of power and the chance to be the next presidential nominee, with just a few stipulations – namely, distancing himself from the Tea Party.
“This is what they’ll do to when you’re in Washington,” Glenn concluded. “I mean and before you know it, we have lost Rubio. I would pray for Rubio because I believe this guy is going to be – if there are any flaws in his character, they will find them. They will exploit them. And he’ll be gone. So pray for him and hope that he holds up.”