“America began from a powerful truth – that our rights as individuals do not come from our government. They come from our God.
“Government’s job is to protect those rights. And here this Republic has done that better than any government in the history of the world.
“Now, America is not perfect. It took a bloody civil war to free over 4 million African Americans who lived enslaved. It took another hundred years after that before they achieved full equality under the law.
“But since her earliest days, America has inspired people from all over the world. Inspired them with the hope that one day their own countries would be one like this one.
“Many others decided they could not wait. And so they came here from everywhere, to pursue their dreams and to work to leave their children better off than themselves. And the result was the American miracle.”
So said U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, son of immigrants, in his maiden speech on the Senate floor in June 2011. Read the whole thing.
Rubio, the Florida Republican, won the Vice Presidential straw poll at the recent Western Conservative Summit in Denver (where I had the privilege of speaking on Social Media 101, with WhoSaidYouSaid alumna Kelly Maher).
Rubio has been at or near the top of virtually everyone’s short list for the V.P. slot. Whether or not he ends up at the top of Gov. Romney’s list, the sentiments he expressed are truly universal, and ones that as Americans, we can all cheer.
