This evening, Florida Senator Marco Rubio publicly announced his candidacy for President of the United States. As Francisco Alvarez at FoxNews Latino notes, making the announcement from the Freedom Tower in Miami is very significant to Rubio:

In an interview with the Miami Herald recently , Rubio – whose parents arrived in the U.S. and were given permanent residency in 1956, that is before Castro’s revolution took place – said he chose the Freedom Tower because the building holds significant personal value to generations of Cuban-Americans.
“To me, it’s a place that’s symbolic of the promise of America,” Rubio told the Herald. “Literally, five decades ago, tens of thousands of people came here after losing their country and began their new life.”

Earlier today, during a call with major donors, Rubio told backers that he believes he is uniquely qualified to represent the Republican Party and that it’s the GOP that will defend the American Dream. AP’s Philip Elliott and Brendan Farrington report:

In previewing his campaign’s central message, Rubio said the dream is slipping from too many families’ grip, and young Americans face unequal opportunities to succeed. It was a message honed to pitch the GOP as a party that cares about all voters, not just those in upper tax brackets.
“I feel uniquely qualified to not just make that argument, but to outline the policies that we need to have in order to achieve it,” he said.

Prior to the rally, Rubio met with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.  In answer to the question of why he is running, Rubio replied:

“I think this country’s at a generational moment where it needs to decide not what party it wants in charge but what kind of country are we going to want to be moving forward,” Rubio told Stephanopoulos in an interview at the Florida senator’s home. “I think the 21st century can be the American century, and I believe that I can lead this country in that direction. I can help lead it there from the Senate. I can lead it there as president.”

At tonight’s rally, he launched his campaign with a rejection of the leaders and ideas that are stuck always looking back at yesterday. Instead he is urging Americans to look forward to  “A New American Century”: