Mitt Romney, who has become the favorite of the Washington Conventional Wisdom crowd as the Republican to beat for the 2012 presidential nomination, will "officially" declare his candidacy this Thursday in New Hampshire.
As has been mentioned already during this campaign season, perhaps his biggest hurdle in winning the support within his own party is the universal health care law he signed in Massachusetts back in 2006, toward the end of his own term as governor of the Bay State.
Even before President Obama signed his federal health care bill last year, his attempt to persuade the American public to support it became the single biggest issue Republicans and Tea Party activists seized upon in opposition in 2009-2010, especially the individual mandate provision. and some analysts contend that opposition was the single biggest factor in Republicans dominating the 2010 elections.
Former Governor Romney has declared that his bill and Obama's should not be confused as the same – but a new piece in the New Yorker magazine might make his case a little harder to make.
This article appears in May 26 – Jun 1, 2011.