Marco Rubio Claims He’ll Turn Down Vice President Spot On GOP Ticket

via Benjy Sarlin, Talking Points Memo

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), one of the most buzzed-about potential running mates for Mitt Romney, says he will not be the party’s vice presidential nominee even if Romney personally asks him.

“I don’t want to be the vice president right now, or maybe ever,” Rubio said at a National Journal forum in Washington on Thursday.

The usual disclaimer: Potential vice presidential often publicly express a lack of interest in the position, a pose that guards them against seeming presumptuous or charges that they’re preparing to abandon their constituents for personal ambition.

Still, Rubio’s comments Thursday went at least a half-step farther than previous denials. Asked whether he would turn down a direct request from Romney to join the ticket, Rubio replied, “Yes.”

“But you know he’s not going to ask,” Rubio said. “That’s not how this works. He’s watching this interview so he’ll know.”

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