Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's water break isn't the first time a carefully crafted political message has competed for attention with a momentary blip.

But it shows how an unscripted moment in the social media age can threaten to trump policy details and substance.

Rubio's mid-speech lunge for a drink of water during his Republican response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address quickly lit up social media networks and became a hot topic on Wednesday around the water cooler.

Rubio is considered a potential 2016 presidential candidate. He said in television interviews Wednesday that his mouth got dry during the speech and he figured he was better off taking the water "and taking the hit" for doing it on live TV than being unable to pronounce his words.