The man who once was known—albeit only by himself—as "Missouri’s Health Care Senator” has emerged as a key member of a team of experts charged with extricating GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney from the jaws of his own record on the subject.
None other than former Sen. Jim Talent was quoted in the pages of The New York Times today as a “policy adviser” to Romney, who has taken heat from the Wall Street Journal and other conservatives for having passed a health-care plan as Massachusetts governor that is strikingly similar to President Obama’s plan on the national level.
Among its key provisions, the Massachusetts law includes a mandate that citizens purchase health care, the most despised component of Obama’s health-care reform law.
“Every candidate has issues that they have to manage,” explained Talent, who lost his seat to Sen. Claire McCaskill in 2006, apparently unable to “manage” his support for the Iraq War—a key issue in the race.
After considering a bid for a rematch with McCaskill next year, Talent announced he would not run. Perhaps he didn’t want to face a Tea Party onslaught for what his campaign literature touted as “supporting billions of dollars in funding increases for veterans health care.”
SLM co-owner Ray Hartmann is a panelist on KETC Channel 9's Donnybrook, which airs Thursdays at 7 p.m.
Commentary By Ray Hartmann
