Although it is possible that Rubio may yet be asked to go through the vetting process, it has been nearly two months since Romney named his long-time aide Beth Myers to run his vice presidential search. – Jonathan Karl, ABC News
Update: Romney says Rubio being ‘thoroughly vetted’
Tea party darling and freshman Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is dominating the news cycle Tuesday on two fronts: Several media reports indicate the Mitt Romney campaign is not considering Rubio as a running mate for Romney; and on the day Rubio's much-anticipated new memoir “An American Son” went on sale, multiple articles surfaced detailing Rubio's explanation for why his family left the Mormon Church.
Rubio not being vetted by Team Romney
ABC News' Jonathan Karl broke a bombshell early Tuesday with the revelation that Romney's vice-presidential search committee is not asking Rubio to fill out questionnaires or hand over financial documents.
"Knowledgeable Republican sources tell me that Rubio is not being vetted by Mitt Romney’s vice presidential search team," Karl reported. "He has not been asked to complete any questionnaires or been asked to turn over any financial documents typically required of potential vice presidential candidates. Although it is possible that Rubio may yet be asked to go through the vetting process, it has been nearly two months since Romney named his long-time aide Beth Myers to run his vice presidential search. The fact that Rubio has not been asked to turn over any documents by now is a strong indication that he is not on Romney’s short list of potential running mates."
Although popular opinion long held that the Rubio could be an attractive running mate for Romney given his Latino roots (he is the son of Cuban immigrants), Washington Post political blogger Jennifer Rubin is not surprised by Karl’s report.
"It has been rather obvious for some time that Rubio and Romney weren’t a good match," Rubin wrote. "As President Obama appears more and more clueless about how to fix the economy and lead on the international stage, it becomes all the more important for the GOP ticket to embody maturity and experience. To be blunt, Rubio’s too new on the national scene."
Rubio's new book reveals why his family left the Mormon Church
Rubio was baptized into Mormonism when he was about 8 years old and living in Nevada. However, the British newspaper Daily Mail reported Tuesday that "An American Son" paints a picture of Rubio leaving "the Mormon Church because his family found it too strict. After his father and mother struggled with the ban on tobacco, alcohol and coffee, he persuaded them to convert to Catholicism instead after a few years."
In a recent interview with ABC News’ David Muir to promote "An American Son," Rubio said his father was “skeptical about the church’s teachings,” and explained that his family rejoined that Catholic faith around the time he was 13 years old.
“We did our first communion in Las Vegas before moving back to Miami,” Rubio told Muir. “I know people find it interesting, it was a period in our lives and our family in Las Vegas, we have a large extended family of cousins, second cousins and others who are still part of the LDS church.”