Sen. Rubio refers to himself as 'vice president'

WASHINGTON — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says he does not want to be vice president now and possibly never. But then he referred to himself as ... vice president.

Rubio was answering questions Thursday at a forum sponsored by the National Journal. He was asked repeatedly about his vice presidential aspirations and insisted he wants to remain in the Senate. As he explained why, he said that in several years "if I have done a good job as vice president ...." He quickly corrected himself by replacing vice president with senator.

It was unclear whether the slip was intentional. Rubio declined to answer reporters' questions afterward.

Rubio is talked about as a possible running mate for Mitt Romney. He said Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman would be phenomenal for VP.