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Romney Backs Student Loan Proposal Obama Supports By KASIE HUNT ASTON, Pa. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Monday embraced a student loan proposal that President Barack Obama is selling on the campaign trail and refused to endorse Sen. Marco Rubio's conservative immigration plan aimed at helping young illegal immigrants. The two policy positions signaled an effort by Romney to move to the political center as he works to court critical general election swing voters — including young voters and Hispanic voters — after a brutal primary fight. "I think young voters in this country have to vote...

Doubling down on RomneyCare, confirming that he believes in climate change, now this. Say this for him: At least he’s not a total pander machine this time around. He just … seems to be in the grip of a political death wish. I can’t even explain this in terms of him wanting to stick by a position he espoused in the past in order to signal to voters that he’s “authentic” and won’t bend on his principles easily. His position, ostensibly, is that he’s pro-life. This makes him look like he’s inching back towards his pro-choice past. Is he in...

Over the past several weeks, political observers have speculated about how passage of the national health care law modeled after the one Mitt Romney signed in Massachusetts could hurt his presidential ambitions. But more significant for conservatives is how Romney's presidential ambitions could stymie the effort to repeal ObamaCare. As it is, achieving a full repeal of the recently-passed health care law will be extremely difficult. Given that Obama would veto any bill to undo his signature legislative accomplishment, it means that to get rid of the law, Republicans will have to not only take back Congress, but capture...

BEDFORD, N.H. - When it comes to health care, Mitt Romney is hoping to have it both ways, even as he accuses the White House of doing the same. In the weeks since President Obama and the Democratic Congress enacted their health care overhaul, Mr. Romney, the once and presumably future candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, has confronted an issue that is alternately viewed as a strength and a vulnerability. As he promotes himself as a problem-solving pragmatist, Mr. Romney can justifiably point to the landmark universal coverage law in Massachusetts that he, as governor, proposed in 2006. But...

Mitt Romney offered an enthusiastic defense last night of the comprehensive health care law he helped create four years ago in Massachusetts, even as he pointed to crucial distinctions between it and a similar national program enacted last week by Democrats. “Overall, ours is a model that works,’’ Romney said in response to a question after a speech at Iowa State University. “We solved our problem at the state level. Like it or not, it was a state solution. Why is it that President Obama is stepping in and saying ‘one size fits all’ ’’? Obama’s signing of a federal...

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty (R) have both now confirmed that they will not attend the Southern Republican Leadership Conference (SRLC), which is taking place April 8-11 in New Orleans. Their absence is notable in the sense that they are the two who have been most noticeably planning for a run in 2012 and this is a chance to speak to a major group of conservative activists. Pawlenty had been scheduled to attend and was even advertised on the website as a featured speaker. The Minnesota Governor has pulled out however to attend the...

Utah's favorite political son made no apologies Saturday for his conservative cred -- a stance thousands of backers in the Beehive State hope will propel Mitt Romney to the White House. Speaking at the Salt Palace Convention Center hall, Romney weaved wit, humor and folksy anecdotes around enough anti-Barack Obama broadsides to energize his fawning fans. Most in attendance braved a sloppy snowstorm to hoist campaign-style signs, giving Romney's No Apology: The Case for American Greatness book tour the feel of a 2012 campaign rally. "I hope he does run," Midway's Bart Kotter said afterward. "The guy is an amazing...

He was on the "Today" show yesterday and sat with the ladies on "The View" this morning. Over the course of the next two months he'll be pretty much everywhere. Mitt Romney's new book "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness" was released yesterday and you might as well get used to seeing him in the headlines again. His 19-state book tour guarantees a certain amount of media coverage. But early readers of Romney's book suggest that there's no chance that "No Apology" will generate the hot-cake-like sales of Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue." The Boston Herald points out that "No...

If Mitt Romney's book sales are any indication of how he will do against Sarah Plain in the GOP primaries, things are not looking too good for our former governor from Massachusetts, at the moment. While Sarah Palin’s book shot to # 1 at Amazon on pre-orders alone, on the same day that it was available for pre-orders (a good 2 months before it was released), Mitt Romney's book, “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness”, is still stuck at # 245 in the Amazon sales rankings, with only one day to go before release tomorrow. Of course book sales...

His supporters say the book will show Romney is more thoughtful than Sarah Palin. BY KENNETH T. WALSH Friends of Mitt Romney say his upcoming book, No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, is a lengthy and detailed explanation of his philosophy and should be a fitting prelude to a 2012 presidential campaign if Romney decides to run. The book, which comes out March 2, seems designed to position Romney as a thoughtful conservative who has ruminated carefully about the major issues of the day, ranging from the global economy to national security. Romney supporters say it will serve as...

Mitt Romney's Man by Samuel P. Jacobs AP Photo If Scott Brown pulls off an upset in the race to replace Ted Kennedy in the Senate, he may have Mitt Romney to thank. Samuel P. Jacobs on the 2012 GOP presidential hopeful's hidden hand. There are a number of forces driving Republican Scott Brown’s surprising surge in the Massachusetts special Senate election campaign. He’s benefiting from public anger over the Obama administration’s health-care reform plan. He’s buoyed by a tide of cash from around the country, donated by conservatives eager to send a message by upsetting Democratic front-runner Martha Coakley....

A state commission recommended yesterday that Massachusetts dramatically change how doctors and hospitals are paid, essentially putting providers on a budget as a way to control exploding healthcare costs and improve the quality of care. The 10-member commission, which includes key legislators and members of Governor Deval Patrick’s administration, voted unanimously to largely scrap the current system, in which insurers typically pay doctors and hospitals a negotiated fee for each individual procedure or visit. That arrangement is widely seen as leading to unneeded tests and procedures. Massachusetts would be the first state to adopt such a broad “global payment’’ system,...