Rubio: Romney Is ‘Role Model for People Like Me’

Marco Rubio, the Florida senator who will introduce Mitt Romney at the Republican National Convention, said the former Massachusetts governor “is a role model for people like me.”

Appearing on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Rubio defended Romney against attack ads and said President Barack Obama’s campaign is perpetuating them to counter the failed policies of the Obama administration.

“The fundamental question that every president has to answer is, ‘Are people better off today than they were four years ago?’ and he [Obama] can’t look at the American people with a straight face and say, ‘You are better off today than you were four years ago.’ ”

Rubio said the 2012 election will be a pivotal one for Americans and will indicate the direction voters want their country to take.

“Do we think that the way forward is for us to become more like the rest of the world, or is the way forward for us to help the rest of the world become more like us?” he said.

On the controversial remarks made by Sen. Todd Akin about rape, Rubio said the Missouri Republican unquestionably should step down.

“When you make comments like that, in addition to being offensive to people like myself and many others, they also hurt your chances of winning,” he said.

A host of politicians have called on Akin to abandon his quest for the Senate, but Rubio said “the decision is his to make.”

Rubio said he supports Paul Ryan’s Medicare reform plans because they would save the system from bankruptcy.

“I want Medicare to be saved, and I want to do it in a way that doesn’t change Medicare at all for people that are currently on it, like my mom, but also ensures that it doesn’t bankrupt itself so it exists when I retire,” he said. “Paul Ryan is the only one in Congress, together with Sen. [Ron] Widen . . . that have come up with a serious plan to address it.”

When asked about the immigration issue by host Bob Schieffer, Rubio, who opposes Obama’s Dream Act, along with Romney, called the Republican Party the pro-legal-immigration party.

“We will never solve our broken legal-immigration system, and we will never be able to compassionately deal with the people in this country who are here in undocumented status, as long as this issue is a political volleyball tossed between two parties who use it against each other to raise money and gain votes,” he said.