When Marco Rubio was asked at Wednesday's Republican presidential debate about the South Florida Sun Sentinel's editorial that called for his resignation as Senator, Rubio was prepared.
"I read that editorial with great amusement," Rubio said. The editorial board slammed Rubio for a poor voting record at Capitol Hill, which is among the lowest this year.
"It's actually evidence of the bias that exists in the American media today," Rubio said.
Jeb Bush took the opportunity to fire back, noting that the Sentinel endorsed Rubio in 2010 for his current post. But Rubio's response to Bush drew applause from the crowd. "I don't ever remember you complaining about John McCain's record," Rubio told Bush. "The only reason why you're doing it now is because we're running for the same position and someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you."
The Sentinel Editorial Page Editor Rosemary O'Hara pointed out on The Florida Roundup, "He convinced us that he wanted to go to Washington to fight for us, to work for us," O'Hara said. "But if you can't do your day jobs, step aside, run for president, but don't leave the seat empty so many times."
After Rubio was widely regarded as the winner of the debate, questions have come up regarding the health of Bush's campaign.
"Jeb Bush is the old crotchety McCain rather than the young hip Obama," said POLTICO's Florida politics reporter Marc Caputo of the perception of Bush versus Rubio. "In the end, people want to elect personalities."