Mitt Romney's Defining Moment By KAREN TUMULTY

Time Magazine ^ | Friday, Nov. 02, 2007 | KAREN TUMULTY

[K-oneTexas]

Excerpt - The official story of how health-care reform was conceived in Massachusetts could hardly have been less inspiring--or promising.

Excerpt - Three and a half years later, Romney signed a law that made Massachusetts the first state in the nation to guarantee health coverage for all.

Excerpt - When they considered the situation as if it were a business-school case study, some simple steps became clear, like getting the word out to the 106,000 Massachusetts citizens who were eligible for Medicaid but didn't seem to know it.

Excerpt - But as a Republican, Romney had very little leverage with the legislature, where the GOP's representation was so small it was less a minority than a cult.

Excerpt - The bill that emerged from the legislature two weeks later was different in many respects from what Romney had initially proposed.

[K-oneTexas]

Found this article very interesting ... even from Time Magazine. Although I'm not totally sold on Romney, It's definetly not Rudy, Paul and McCain. We need to look a little deeper and read a lot more on the candidates ... and stop the gut reactions due to religion or some other reason.

I'd would truly like to see a meaningful debate with just three (Hunter, Fred and Mitt) with more time than the 30 second sound bites.

[TruthFactor]

The more I see Romney, the more I’m impressed with his intelligence and organizational skills. I’m not completely sold on his conservative credentials. But, from what I’ve seen he seems to get the most conservative, workable results with the cards he’s dealt.

[spacejunkie]

agree....he’s the one rising to the top for me as well. Considerably less negatives than any other contender, IMVHO.

[ClearCase_guy]

Hunter, Fred and Mitt all seem worthy of serious consideration. I expect to vote for Hunter, but if he steps out, I'll happily vote for the other two. On the other hand, if Giuliani wins the nomination, a lot of the base will sit out the general election -- and I'll be one of them.

Republicans who vote for Giuliani in the primary will be helping Hillary.

[petercooper]

Yes, but he’s Mormon. And has only had one wife.

/s

[FastCoyote]

Think about it, Time Magazine giving a glowing report on Romney Care. And this doesn’t set off any bells anywhere?

[K-oneTexas]

Republicans who vote for Giuliani in the primary will be helping Hillary.
True. Then again Rudy, being a Rockefeller Republican, is the Republican's equivalent of a 'Clinton Democrat'. Clinton Democrats having liberal forerunners such as FDR, Humphrey/Muskie, Carter/Mondale, Dukakis etc.

[tear gas]

If the religious issue seems insurmountable, we'll see just how Mormon he really is. However, if he decides to change religions, he shouldn't wait too long or it will appear to be politically-motivated.

For now, I'm sticking with Thompson and Hunter.

[xjcsa]

Think about it, Time Magazine giving a glowing report on Romney Care. And this doesn’t set off any bells anywhere?

Sounds like you're offering more of a substitute for "thinking about it." Doing the opposite of Time may have a decent batting average, but it's not a substitute for actual thinking.

[Tears of a Clown]

Good read. I sometimes wonder how it would’ve felt to be a republican governor in an overwhelmingly super-liberal state like mass and and not only try, but achieve some conservative change.

I think people attack Romney very unfairly. I think it’s proven that he’s very intelligent, a worker bee, and has great moral values. I would be happy to vote for him.

[WFTR]

for your consideration

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

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[WFTR]

I didn't think that the article was really all that friendly to Mr. Romney. The writer goes to great pains to make an issue of the fact that Mr. Romney isn't trying to push the Massachusetts plan on the rest of the country and is trying to spin that fact into something negative. The writer also seems to emphasize the Kennedy contribution over anything that Mr. Romney did. Even so, Mr. Romney may be helped by this portrayal as someone who can think "outside the box" and particularly outside "boxes" that are narrowly defined by partisan posturing.

Bill

[gondramB]

I have the feeling that Romney’s defining moment may well be when he wins Iowa and New Hampshire but still doesn’t have the national numbers.

The problem with that scenario is the Iowa and new Hampshire are where it would be nice to see a conservative win and get momentum against the Guiliani machine.

The way the polls look, its gonna need to be later if a conservative is gonna break out.

[indianrightwinger]

I also like Mitt so far. Not completely thrilled with him, but what other choices are there anyway?

Fred puts me to sleep.

[greyfoxx39]

Fred puts Romney supporter to sleep Ping

[Diogenesis]

At least Fred is not a Dictator like Romney or Spitzer or Hillary.

No wonder he forced HillaryCARE=RomneyCARE upon the poor voteless citizens of Massachusetts.

[rightazrain]

I watched Fred on NBC this morning. In my opinion, he’s the real adult in the Republican field. He’s the clear sober thinker, the man for our troubling times. He does not try to entertain or put up a phony front. What you see is what you get.

Why are so many are hung up on so-called charisma and appearances in choosing their presidential candidate?

Ok, let’s talk about appearances —

RoboMitt is Mr. Perfect In Every Way.
Guiliani giggles/grins a lot.
John McCain looks constipated and soooo misunderstood.
Huckabee makes funny jokes.
Ron Paul looks like he’s beaming up to the next passing meteor with his followers.

Fred Thompson is a genuine statesman with well-thought-out positions grounded in foundational conservative beliefs.

[David In Staten Island]

Spoken like a true bigot.

[greyfoxx39]