http://www.nationalreview.com/node/426236/print Jeb Swings at Rubio, Misses, and Finds Himself on the Ropes
By Tim Alberta — October 29, 2015
Swing and a miss.
It was the story of the night, the story of the debate, and it might soon be the story of Jeb Bush’s campaign.
After months of flicking passively at Marco Rubio — all the while dismissing talk of their collision course, and rolling his eyes at the narrative of “master vs. apprentice” — Bush finally launched a public broadside against his friend and former protégé during the third GOP presidential debate Wednesday night.
His timing was logical and yet inopportune; CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla had been quizzing Rubio about his mounting number of missed Senate votes, which prompted a Florida newspaper to call for his resignation. Rubio responded forcefully by decrying the newspaper’s “double standard” of endorsing Democratic candidates who had similarly missed votes. The audience rallied behind Rubio, roaring with approval — and just then, Bush decided to jump in.
“Marco, when you signed up for this, this was a six-year term, and you should be showing up to work,” Bush lectured. “You can campaign [for president] or just resign and let someone else take the job. There are a lot of people living paycheck to paycheck in Florida as well. They are looking for a senator that will fight for them each and every day.”
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