DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) – Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio thinks he has struck the perfect balance between anger and optimism needed to win over the outraged and inspire potential conservatives to turn out and vote.
In his closing argument to Iowans ahead of Monday night’s leadoff caucus, Rubio is looking to set himself apart from his more traditional rivals and the fiery outsiders vying for the Republican presidential nomination.
“Now, our time has come,” Rubio said in Des Moines last week. “If we do what needs to be done…history will say we lived in the early years of this new century, a time of great uncertainty. But like all the generations before us, we did our part, we rose up to confront our challenges.”
Should Rubio’s efforts fall short, it could be in part because he’s misjudged the depth of anger among voters in both political parties.
If he succeeds, it could be because he will have been able to convert that frustration into the inspiration as a son of immigrants projecting faith in the U.S. as a land of opportunity.