Rubio: Hillary 'yesterday,' Obama 'failed'

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – At the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday morning, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a possible 2016 presidential candidate, gave an emotional speech echoing President Ronald Reagan and arguing from his personal life story that the greatest days of the United States of America lie ahead.

“The world knows we are exceptional,” Rubio told an enthusiastic audience. “When was the last time you heard about a boat load of American refugees arriving on the shores of another country?”

Yet, he said, "at home we have millions of families that are living paycheck to paycheck, and they are wondering when things are ever going to get better for them.”

“And around the world because of the Obama-Clinton foreign policy, our allies no longer trust us, and our enemies no longer fear us," he said. "We now have a foreign policy that treats the ayatollah in Iran with more respect than we treat the prime minister of Israel.”

In a question-and answer-session after his speech, Rubio drew applause when he told Sean Hannity that “illegal immigration must be brought under control.”

In a word-association round with Hannity, Rubio chose “yesterday” in response to "Hillary Clinton" and “failed” in response to "Obama."

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In his speech, Rubio said the "bad news is that today our nation is on the road to decline, but the good news is that we are only one election away from triggering a new American century."

"Imagine if we cut our taxes and simplified our regulatory code," he said. "Imagine if we balanced the budget. Imagine if we repealed and replaced Obamacare. If we did these things our economy would create millions of new jobs and the American dream would reach more people than ever before.”

Rubio stressed that the family, not the government, is the most import element of society, and he insisted laws must protect human life from conception to death.

“Imagine if we had a commander in chief that understood that the way to deal with ISIS is not to offer them jobs,” he said. “Imagine if we didn’t have a president who traveled the world bad-mouthing America. After all, that’s the United Nations’ job. Imagine if we didn’t have a secretary of state who believes America is as safe as we have ever been while in the mean time radical Islamic jihadists are taking young women as brides, are burning prisoners in cages and beheading Christians on a beach in Libya.”

Turning to his personal story, he said, “I have a debt to America that I will never be able to repay.”

His parents arrived in the U.S. from Cuba in 1956 with no money and no connections.

"They barely spoke English, but less than four decades later all four of their children are living the dream my grandparents came here to achieve,” he said.

“For me, America isn’t just a country,” he said. “It’s the place that literally changed the history of my family.”

Check out WND's extensive coverage of the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference:

Jeb Bush replies to booing: 'I want to be your 2^nd choice'

Trump at CPAC: 'Hillary was the 1^st birther'

CPAC crowd chants: 'President Paul!'

John Bolton: Hillary 'unfit to command'

Rick Perry: America will survive Obama as it did Carter

Jeb Bush bracing for CPAC walkout

Scott Walker 'wants to make America great again'

Sarah Palin: Obama's VA 'killing our veterans'

Jindal pounds Common Core in CPAC speech

Cruz: Hillary 'embodies the corruption of Washington'