Marco Rubio better for a good look at be prepared his record

To those who believe that Marco Rubio lacks the experience to be president, consider that his resume surpasses Barack Obama’s when he announced his candidacy eight years ago.

Obama had been a state senator for six years, never gaining a leadership position. He had been a member of the U.S. Senate for just two years, spending much of that time preparing to run for president. Obama was 47 when he won the White House.

Rubio served nine years in the Florida House, rising to speaker — the first CubanAmerican to do so. He has spent four years in the U.S. Senate, also devoting much time to a presidential run. Rubio will be 45 on Election Day.

Each man got lucky. Organizers chose Obama as the keynoter at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. The speech made Obama a national figure before he even had won his Senate seat. His opponent, Jack Ryan, then dropped out after revelations that Ryan had asked his wife to perform public sex acts. John Kerry’s loss to George W. Bush cleared the way for an Obama presidential run.

In 2009, Rubio caught the tea party wave that swamped Charlie Crist. Fortunately for Rubio, Crist stayed in the 2010 Senate race as an independent, splitting the antiRubio vote with Democrat Kendrick Meek. Rubio won with 48.9 percent.

Another similarity is that neither Obama nor Rubio defers to party royalty. Obama challenged Hillary Clinton, and Rubio just challenged Jeb Bush. Both understood that luck — and working to capitalize on it — had given them just one chance for the Oval Office.

Now, though, we will see whether Rubio is as ready for that chance as Obama was. Can he survive the moments that can break a campaign’s axle?

GOP opponents will go over Rubio’s record like prison guards strip-searching an inmate. They will find matters of style: Rubio’s dry-mouth panic while delivering the Republican response to Obama’s 2013 State of the Union address. They will find matters of substance: Rubio’s use of a party credit card for personal expenses when he was speaker.

Rubio defended the spending on his wife by saying that she was “the first lady of the Florida House of Representatives.” He reimbursed the party $16,000, but no one ever determined if that was the full amount. Like Hillary Clinton defending her email policy, Rubio didn’t make the records available but said nothing in the records would contradict him.

Obama also had early controversies. Tony Rezko, a key fundraiser, was convicted on money laundering charges. Obama and his wife brought property next to Rezko and bought land from him, a move Obama called “boneheaded.” There was Obama’s pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and his “God Damn America!” sermon.

Scrutiny of Rubio also will focus on issues and how Rubio intends to position himself. As Rubio’s announcement made clear, he seeks support from the same new electorate that helped Obama: younger voters and minorities.

“The time has come,” Rubio said, “for our generation to lead the way toward a new American Century.” He referred to Clinton as “a leader from yesterday.” He said that “too many of our leaders and their ideas are stuck in the 20th century.” Rubio is young, but he’s the one who seems “stuck in the 20th century.”

Rubio declared his candidacy at the Freedom Tower in Miami, through which so many Cuban-Americans came when they arrived. Rubio, though, opposes Obama’s opening to Cuba. Younger, middleaged and even some older Cuban-Americans support Obama’s policy.

Seventy-five percent of Americans under 35 support same-sex marriage. So do 61 percent of Republicans under 30. As judges struck down same-sex marriage bans, Rubio said such action should have come through state legislatures. That’s the view of older Americans, not younger.

Rubio has walked away from his biggest accomplishment, which was helping to craft the 2013 comprehensive immigration reform bill that passed the Senate with 68 votes. He now calls for “modernizing” the system. That’s hardly bold or transformational.

After the 2012 election, Obama’s campaign team noted that targeting the new electorate works only if you have the right candidate. Rubio won’t be able to reach the next generation if he sounds like the last generation. Randy Schultz is the former editorial page editor of The Palm Beach Post. He also blogs for Boca Raton Magazine.