In the nine days since President Obama announced a plan that would allow some young undocumented immigrants to stay in this country, members of the Republican Party have appeared flummoxed in coming up with a response that doesn't antagonize Latinos , a group that they're trying to cultivate as the election grows nearer.
That includes Marco Rubio, who had been talking for months about crafting a legislative proposal that would grant temporary legal status to many of the same undocumented immigrants that Obama's directive will affect. Rubio has complained that the president never called him before announcing his new policy, but then again, the freshman Florida Republican never actually drafted a bill that the president could compare to his own policy directive.
In a speech to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials on Friday, Rubio insisted
"I don't care who gets the credit," but added somewhat bitterly that after Obama endorsed a plan similar to his that "now it's the greatest idea in the world."
On Sunday on NBC's Meet The Press Rubio defended why his proposal never was drafted into a bill.
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This article appears in Jun 21-27, 2012.