From Sen. Marco Rubio, asked how old the Earth is:
I’m not a scientist, man.
Yeah, I think we knew that. Here’s the rest of the quote:
I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that’s a dispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States. I think the age of the universe has zero to do with how our economy is going to grow. I’m not a scientist. I don’t think I’m qualified to answer a question like that. At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all. I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I’m
not sure we’ll ever be able to answer that. It’s one of the great mysteries.
As it happens, both Rubio’s church and the secular god Google agree on this question, so there’s not much excuse for him to pretend he doesn’t know. Still, for the record, I have no objection to anything Rubio says here. I agree that the age of the Earth has nothing to do with economic growth and I agree that parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says. It would be nice if Rubio had added that science classes should teach kids science, but he managed to dodge that bullet—barely. Maybe next time someone will follow up on this.
Besides, all the fuss over this quote has obscured the real quote of the day from Rubio, about his love of hip hop:
The only guy that speaks at any sort of depth is, in my mind, Eminem.
Okey dokey. My favorite Eminem song, by the way, is “The Way I Am.” I’ll bet you’re surprised I even have a favorite Eminem song, aren’t you? So am I.
