Last night, Florida Senator Marco Rubio was tasked with the high profile but ultimately thankless job of delivering the opposing party's response to the State of the Union. These things are almost always awkward (remember Bobby Jindal's Kenneth the Page delivery a few years back?), and never match the intensity of the president's speech. It's like the opening act going on after the headliner.
Last night, in perhaps one of the most awkward mid-speech moments in political history, Rubio decided to lunge for a water bottle and then took an audible gulp, all while never breaking eye contact with the camera. The Internet went crazy.
Obviously GIFs were made.
Then came the image macros.
via Short Form Blog
Of course People on Twitter had things to say too:
Time proclaimed Marco Rubio the "Republican Savior." His SOTU response was all water and whine.
-- Bearded Stoner (@beardedstoner) February 13, 2013
Congrats, Marco Rubio. I thought only my father's drinking could make me feel that embarrassed.
-- Jen Statsky (@jenstatsky) February 13, 2013
You thirsty, Marco Rubio, or is your throat just parched with hypocrisy?
-- Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) February 13, 2013
So the GOP response to SOTU is sending out Marco Rubio to waterboard himself?
-- Alex Blagg (@alexblagg) February 13, 2013
Even I had to be a dick about it.
Marco Rubio was drinking Poland Springs. Should have shown some Florida pride by swigging Zephyrhills. #UnFloridian
-- Kyle Munzenrieder (@Munzenrieder) February 13, 2013
