Marco Rubio: Another Reason to Avoid Voting Based on Personal Narratives

COMMENTARY | Not too long ago, United States Senator Marco Rubio looked like a prime candidate for presidential running mate. Things are less certain at the moment. Rubio, widely admired for his remarkable family history, has faced the difficult task of explaining discrepancies in his personal narrative.

For a long time, Marco Rubio enthralled audiences with stories of his parents fleeing a Castro-controlled Cuba. It turns out that this story was false. Although Rubio's parents did leave Cuba for the United States, it had nothing to do with Fidel Castro. His parents actually left Cuba in 1956, when it was controlled by President Batista, an ally of the United States.

Although many Marco Rubio supporters continue to stand by the "Michael Jordan of the Republican party," others have lost faith in him. They were inspired by his story of political exile and now they feel betrayed.

This is just one reason why I make a point of not following a politician's background too closely. Rags to riches stories are nice, but they don't provide any evidence as to a politician's ability to lead a nation, a state, or even the local school board. I am more interested in the politician's personal platform and how successful he or she has been in past roles. I think that these are more reliable markers of a person's abilities than a touching personal narrative.

That being said, I do take it seriously when politicians lie to their supporters. I am not interested in having a dishonest person taking up a leadership position. Others will argue that no politician is honest, but I still think that some are more trustworthy than others. Of course, nobody is perfect, and I may overlook the occasional slip-up if the person admits to screwing up and apologizes to the American people. I have not seen this from Marco Rubio.

Instead of offering up a heartfelt apology for misleading his supporters, Rubio decided to defend his actions. While speaking at the University of Central Florida, he explained that what he did was OK because the essential story remained the same: "We do have a tendency in modern politics to exaggerate things. It's not like they discovered my parents were from Canada. My story is essentially the same one. My parents came to this country in search for a better life. They were prepared to live here permanently but always wished they could go back to Cuba."

I am truly glad that his parents found a better life in America. But the story would have been just as inspiring if he told the truth in the first place. Instead, Rubio's put a permanent dent in his credibility as a politician.