Romney defends Marco Rubio's fairy tale: his parents were exiled from Castro's Cuba during Batista's regime

On Friday, the Washington Post busted the heroic, up-from-communism saga that Florida Senator Marco Rubio has for years peddled publicly about his family.

In fact, they arrived in the U.S. more than two and a half years before Castro seized power in Cuba.

The senator has pushed back hard to diminish his falsehood insisting that the "essential facts" of his heritage (meaning, one supposes, those he didn't lie about) are "indisputable."

If The Washington Post wants to criticize me for getting a few dates wrong, I accept that...My understanding of my parents’ journey has always been based on what they told me about events that took place more than 50 years ago — more than a decade before I was born.

That is an outrageous allegation that is not only incorrect, but an insult to the sacrifices my parents made to provide a better life for their children

And exactly what allegation was "outrageous"? Senator Rubio would evidently like his constituents to think it was the date disparity. In fact, Rubio cleverly redefines the "allegation" in his own terms:

To suggest my family’s story is embellished for political gain is outrageous... My parents are from Cuba... They were exiled from the home country they tried to return to because they did not want to live under communism. That is an undisputed fact and to suggest otherwise is outrageous.

Oddly, Senator Rubio was able to confirm to the Washington Post, rather quickly (on Thursday, the day the Washington Post went to press with the revelation) that the newspaper was "correct" about when his parents really came to the U.S. — 1956, not 1959 — even though he continues to claim that his "understanding" for the last several decades was different.

The oily Florida senator has now quietly altered his web site:

Old Marco Rubio: "In 1971 Marco was born in Miami to Cuban-born parents who came to America following Fidel Castro's takeover."

New Marco Rubio: "Marco was born in Miami in 1971 to Cuban exiles who first arrived in the United States in 1956."

Following the dust-up, Mitt Romney, from New Hampshire, proclaimed that the Washington Post's investigation of Rubio's phony claim was was an attempt to "smear" Rubio.

"I think the world of Marco Rubio, support him entirely and think that the effort to try to smear him was unfortunate and bogus."

Two peas in a pod, AKSARBENT thinks.

One more thing:

Rubio may be nervous and defensive about his origins due to his widespread support from teabagging birthers whose ancestry standards might be too stringent for Rubio to pass. Politico notes:

Rubio has told the harrowing story of his parents’ plight numerous times throughout his political career, and his Senate website states that his parents “came to America following Fidel Castro’s takeover,” the Post noted.

Rubio’s parents petitioned for naturalization in 1975, four years after Rubio was born in Miami, according to the Post. Rubio critics have raised questions about whether he is constitutionally eligible to serve as vice president or president, a controversy reminiscent of the “birther” controversy surrounding President Barack Obama’s birthplace — which Obama tried to put to rest earlier this year by releasing a copy of his long-form birth certificate from Hawaii.