It's the kind of low-grade gaffe any politician might make on the campaign trail, but the timing could not have been worse for Marco Rubio. The candidate who's been ridiculed for robotically repeating talking points offered up Exhibit A during a speech in New Hampshire on Monday. The New York Times has the full quote:
- "We are taking our message to families that are struggling to raise their children in the 21st century because, as you saw, Jeanette and I are raising our four children in the 21st century, and we know how hard it's become to instill our values in our kids instead of the values they try to ram down our throats."
- Followed immediately by: "In the 21st century, it's becoming harder than ever to instill in your children the values they teach in our homes and in our church instead of the values that they try to ram down our throats in the movies, in music, in popular culture."
And what does this mean for Rubio as New Hampshire prepares to pick a winner? Headlines like this:
- Vox: "RubioBot experiences new software glitch ..."
- Gawker: "Beep Boop Robot Marco Rubio Malfunctioning in New Hampshire"
- USA Today: "Marco Rubio repeats speech line amid attacks he's too scripted"
- The Week: "Marco Rubio repeats himself—again"
Amid the jokes, Matthew Yglesias at Vox highlights the potential danger for Rubio: "There's very little distinguishing Rubio from, say, Jeb Bush except for the perception that Rubio is dynamic and charismatic whereas Bush is lame. Small stumbles can wreck that kind of perception and tip people over to another candidate in a way that wouldn't be possible if there were big ideological gaps." (More
Marco Rubio 2016 stories.)
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