Rubio calls for new generation to change

DAVENPORT - Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio, whose fortunes are rising in the race for president, packed a Davenport restaurant Wednesday, telling the crowd that next year's election is a 'generational choice” and that many of the nation's policies were drafted decades ago and are in need of change.

'The world is different from it was five years ago, not to mention 50 or 60 years ago,” said Rubio, who referred to Social Security, Medicare and tax and anti-poverty programs as from different eras.

Rubio argued that entitlement programs need to be changed in light of the nation's debt, saying younger generations may need to retire later and might later in life be buying private insurance via Medicare.

The first-term Florida senator, who won praise for his performance in the debate in Milwaukee on Tuesday night, covered a range of topics in front of a crowd his campaign estimated at 400.

Rubio called for a greater emphasis on vocational education, arguing that there's more demand for welders than philosophers, the latter a vocation he's often poked at. At the debate, he won applause for the line, although he quipped in Davenport, 'I'm going to have to find another major to pick on.”

He did allow that four-year colleges were still needed, joking, 'How would we have college football?”

Rubio spoke for about a half-hour and took no questions from the audience. But he's clearly getting some buzz in Iowa. Three polls in the state over the past two weeks have put Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz in a tight contest for third place in the state, behind Donald Trump and Ben Carson.

The Florida senator also won ample praise at the event, held at the Jersey Grille. One woman, who declined to give her name, called him 'a rock star.”

Others said they saw an articulate leader who could lead their party in the general election.

'This is the first time since Reagan that I've committed this early,” said Jeff Heuer of Davenport. 'I'm a Reagan-compassionate conservative since Day One. That's what Rubio is.”