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A new presidential poll has former Bay State Gov. Mitt Romney the early favorite of the GOP pack in New Hampshire for the 2012 primary. Romney was the top pick of 50 percent of Granite State Republicans surveyed, while recently resigned Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin tied former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, now a Fox News host, at tallied 17 percent each. Former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich was fourth with 13 percent, while highly touted Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty garnered a paltry 3 percent. Romney narrowly lost the 2008 New Hampshire primary to Sen. John McCain.

(snip) Romney, who ran, in part in 2008 on his ability to forge consensus on health care in the Bay State, has generally avoided engaging Pawlenty on the issue. But, when asked about Pawlenty's repeated jabs at his boss, Romney spokesman Eric Fehnrstrom offered a subtle pushback on the idea that the Massachusetts plan is a recipe for health care disaster. "There's a reason why states and national health care reformers are copying the Massachusetts health care law, and that's because it works," said Fehrnstrom. "Mitt Romney is the only governor in history to get insurance coverage to nearly all...

Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and an early likely contender for the 2012 Republican nomination for President, has signed a deal with St. Martin’s Press to publish his book next March. Titled “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness,” the book outlines what appears to be a campaign platform: Mr. Romney’s views on how to create a stronger economy, military and families, and his vision on jobs, education, health care, energy and citizenship. The manuscript is currently 304 pages.

In 2006, the state of Massachusetts required every single one of its residents to get health insurance, and every single one of its businesses to provide it. Otherwise, residents and employers would be fined. Some have asked, as national healthcare reform works its way through Congress, is there anything we can learn from the Massachusetts experiment? Yes, according to the state's treasurer, interviewed today on CNBC: Whatever you do, don't do what we did. In a blisteringly frank interview, treasurer Tim Cahill laid out some jaw-dropping stats, which eviscerated the plan and excited every conservative's worst fears about government getting...

Former GOP Governor Helped Make 2006 Reform Reality. BOSTON -- Three years after the inception of Massachusetts’ landmark health reform legislation, which required every citizen to buy insurance, NewsCenter 5’s Ed Harding wondered what former Gov. Mitt Romney, a key political architect of the plan, thought of its progress. Call it protecting his legacy, well-earned pride, or seeing the glass as half-full, but Romney says Massachusetts deserves an ‘A.’ “It’s working like we had hoped it would work,” the one-time republic presidential candidate said. “We got nearly everybody in Massachusetts health insurance, which really, something people didn't think was possible.”...

Former Bay State Gov. Mitt Romney is locked in a statistical dead heat with Sarah Palin for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, despite the Alaska governor’s abrupt resignation last week, according to a new poll of Republican voters. Romney leads all Republican presidential contenders, garnering 25 percent of the vote, edging out Palin (24 percent), former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (22) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (14 percent) in the Rasmussen poll released yesterday.

In 2006, Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney was hailed as a visionary for signing one of the most expansive health reform bills in the country. "MassCare" aimed to expand health insurance, achieve universal coverage, and bring down costs through a complicated set of government controls and subsidies. Just over three years later, many lawmakers are pointing to the Bay State as a model of success -- and pushing for similar policies at the national level. The reform packages put forward by both the President and Democrats in Congress contain many of the essential elements of MassCare, including an individual mandate requiring...

Soon the Republican party will have no choice but to make Mitt Romney its leader. We've seen a suspiciously steady trickle of losers quietly exiting the ranks of 2012 hopefuls -- Bobby Jindal with his disastrous State of the Union rebuttal; John Ensign and Mark Sanford with their affairs; and most recently, Sarah Palin's bizarre resignation from the Alaska governorship. The only candidates left are Mike Huckabee, Tim Pawlenty and Romney. If history is any guide, we should expect some foul disclosure out of the Huckabee camp any day now. You just can't get away with saying something like this...

Oh, Myth Romney, how do I loathe you! Let me count the ways. (in no particular order) 10. TAXES: As the Governor of Massachusetts, you raised "fees" (taxes) by nearly $730 million. In fact, at a 2008 presidential debate, you said that it's appropriate for governments to charge fees and provide services. And, in 2007, at a campaign event in Iowa, you called flat taxes "unfair." (OnTheIssues.org/NewsMax) 9. HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA: In 1994, you favored allowing unabashed homosexuals to openly serve in the U.S. armed forces. You also favored allowing homosexuals to participate in the Boy Scouts, and you were endorsed...

Most Republicans have just finished what might be called the spring of their discontent. Not much went right in the first half of the year; not much to cheer about. But not Mitt Romney. For this unsuccessful 2008 Republican presidential contender, it is hard to imagine how events could be moving more decisively in his favor in 2009. One can almost hear him wondering: Why didn't things break this way last year? Let us count the ways that the world has conspired to help Mr. Romney. At a time when the Republican Party is straining to find new leaders, other...

(snip) On health care, Romney pointed to the successes of his own plan but criticized Obama's for its emphasis on a public option. "The president's plan makes an enormous error by saying we're going to put government into the insurance business. We got everyone in Massachusetts insured and we did it without putting government into the insurance business," he said. "We said instead we're going to help people get private free enterprise kind of insurance they can buy from a number of different companies." He said the system led to plunging premiums while offering a healthy choice of options for...

Mitt Romney says publicly he’s not considering another presidential campaign, most recently on Sunday during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” But many of his loyalists expect one and remain at the ready for 2012. When dozens of former Romney aides and advisers convened on the terrace of Charlie Spies’ fashionable Penn Quarter loft earlier this year on a warm February night, the purpose was ostensibly to help raise money for the Virginia state House race of Romney strategist Barbara Comstock. But Spies, formerly the Romney campaign’s CFO, wasn’t just hosting a $100 per-head fundraiser. He was also staging...

Discussing disgraced South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a fellow Republican, said governors and other national leaders are expected “to live by a higher standard because … the culture of the nation” can be hurt by their failings. “Seeing this family become healed is our highest priority,” Romney said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “At the same time, and not commenting particularly on Governor Sanford, … people in public life ought to be held to a higher standard. … I heard one … former governor say, ‘Well, everybody makes mistakes.’ Well, that’s true. “But not all...