And here we thought he was going to announce it first con su pueblo at the Freedom Tower, a place that means so much 
to the earliest Cuban exiles whose U.S. entry was processed there and who got their first cans of Spam in the historic, iconic building.
But, nooooo.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio let the kitty out of the bag already, telling his big donors at a Biscayne Bay-side breakfast in downtown Miami and in a telephone conference call Monday morning that he was, indeed, running for the Republican nomination for the U.S. presidency.
Of course he’s going to tell these people first. They are the ones who are going to fund the campaign.
It’s not a big surprise. Most of us expected it. Although Ladra suspected he may run for governor instead, and I still think that’s the end game here — because there’s no way he can get elected president if he stays on this ultra-right path — but there’s no harm done in running for POTUS first. Hell, it could be part of the state campaign strategy.
Read related story: Marco Rubio may announce soon — for Prez? Or Gov?
According to several published reports, Rubio said he is running because he feels “uniquely qualified” to pitch his Republican Party as one that will defend the American Dream, which is the title (in plural) of his second book, out last year.
It surprises some who thought that Rubio, a first-term senator who started his political career as a West Miami Commissioner under Miami-Dade Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, who was West Miami mayor — and still calls him “Marquito” — is young enough to wait it out. They did not believe he would run against former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a one-time Rubio mentor who has an exploratory committee and is expected to run.
But others said he sorta had to jump in after all the hoopla. That he couldn’t, in good conscience, bow out now. What’s the worst that can happen? If he loses, he runs for Florida governor in 2018.
On Monday, Rubio — who has become the poster child of a younger and more ethnically diverse Republican party — took aim at his likely Democratic rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, calling the 67-year-old, pretty much, a leader of yesteryear or yesterday’s news.
Is it a coincidence that Clinton made her official announcement yesterday, on Sunday — even though she was supposed to do it later this month — perhaps to preempt Rubio’s big reveal?
Or, he might also be talking about his first obstacle: His Republican primary contenders, including Bush, who is 62 to Rubio’s 43.
Bush hasn’t officially announced but is expected to. So is Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Funny enough, those two lead the national polls on the Republican contest.
Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Rand Paul (Kentucky) have both jumped into the fray already. Funny enough, those two don’t stand a chance.
It’s out: Marco Rubio sets sights for the 2016 White House added by Ladra on
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