that is the individual mandate, is it not? it s a variation on it. he s given some cover here and this is the biggest issue for republicans. that got less attention, but he said he s not going to go after romney on health care. if romney can deal with the health care issue, and he hasn t yet, then romney does become the last man standing and mitch daniels being out of it, huckabee being out, of course, opens up that whole space for a family values social conservative, which is why michele bachmann looks so good for iowa right now. but romney then could be the alternative if huntsman proves what a lot of candidates have proved in the past, that if you re new to politics, it s not that easy to become a national candidate with all the exposure and intensity of that stage. gene? i just want to point out that this is real confusion and chaos in the republican field. however, when push comes to shove, as mike knows, the republican party s going to have a candidate. that candidate
mandate, which is something he supported back in the 90s. this is what he said. well, all of us have a responsibility to help pay for health care, and i think there are ways to do it that make most libertarians relatively happy. i ve said consistently, we ought to have some requirement to either have health insurance or you post a bond or some way indicate you ll be held accountable. that is the individual mandate, is it not? it s a variation on it. he s given some cover here and this is the biggest issue for republicans. that got less attention, but he said he s not going to go after romney on health care. if romney can deal with the health care issue, and he hasn t yet, then romney does become the last man standing and mitch daniels being out of it, huckabee being out, of course, opens up that whole space for a family values social conservative, which is why michele bachmann looks so good for iowa right now. but romney then could be the alternative if huntsman proves what
journal that someone else penned that statement. and get this, that it wasn t an endorsement. well, jeff, you know, politicians are good at squirming out of things like greased pigs, but my question, is there enough grease to get newt away from what he said just five years ago, applauding romney on health care, and in a sense, encouraging it for the rest of the country? i think things are really adding up here for speaker gingrich. this is just one more thing on top of, you know, really a litany of rising questions that some conservatives have about him. but, he still has his core supporters in iowa. he still has people who say that, you know, i like him because he can debate president obama. they keep saying that. i m not sure if voters realize that there s probably only going to be three presidential debates next fall in the general, and the campaign is certainly, or almost certainly not to hinge on debates alone, but i think that the toll is rising for him. he realizes this.