Rubio: Obama Issue Is Not a Lack of Experience; His Ideas Don’t Work

DICKERSON: “Let's switch now to talking about executive experience. In 2008, Republicans running talking about the Democrats that were running, there were some senators running, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, constantly I heard Republicans say they have never run as much as a lemonade stand. They don't have executive experience. They haven't met a payroll. They haven't governed. Why doesn't that apply to you now as a candidate?”

RUBIO: “Yes. Well, first of all, the presidency is not a bookkeeping job. It's not some glorified accounting job. It is the leader of the United States, both of its people and of the nation and of the government. And the job of a president is to craft a vision for America's future, to put the right people in the right position and hold them accountable for carrying out your agenda, but also to rally the country behind big causes. Entitlement reform is a huge undertaking. It will never happen without presidential leadership, not to mention national security. The role of commander in chief is the most important job of a president. In the context of Barack Obama, he has now been president for seven years. He has significant executive experience, and he's still making mistakes, in my opinion. And so it's clear that the issue with him is not that he didn't have executive experience. It's that his ideas do not work. And that's why I think it's important to elect someone to the presidency with the right ideas, ideas that allow private sector to succeed, because that's where you get job creation and economic prosperity, but also someone that understands the risks in the world today and what America's role in the world needs to be.”