It remains to be seen whether Mitt Romney will attempt to distance himself from his disastrous health care legislation in the upcoming presidential campaign. However, from his previous statements, it is clear that he once envisioned RomneyCare as a national model.

Here is what he said leading up to his failed presidential campaign:

…During a speech in Baltimore on Feb. 2, 2007, Romney outlined his ambitions for the Massachusetts plan. “I’m proud of what we’ve done,” he said. “If Massachusetts succeeds in implementing it, then that will be a model for the nation.” Last month Romney’s dream came true. If Republicans knew what was good for them, they would stop treating it as a nightmare…

As ObamaCare was being debated in 2009, he repeated his preference for a national plan similar to the one he authored. His main beef with ObamaCare? The public option in Obama’s original plan.

From CNN’s Political Ticker:

In an interview with CNN in 2009, as Washington was debating President Barack Obama’s health care proposal, Romney said portions of the Massachusetts law could serve as a model for the country.

“I think there are a number of features in the Massachusetts plan that could inform Washington on ways to improve health care for all Americans,” Romney told CNN. “The fact that we were able to get people insured without a government option is a model I think they can learn from.”

[...]

Should Romney get the GOP nomination, Democrats hope “Romneycare” will soften opposition among independents and moderate Republicans to the president’s health care law. How can you be mad at the president, Democrats will ask, when Romney did the same thing?

President Obama previewed the line of attack in a recent speech to the nation’s governors who’d like to see some flexibility in implementing health care reform.

“In fact, I agree with Mitt Romney, who recently said he’s proud of what he accomplished on health care in Massachusetts and supports giving states the power to determine their own health care solutions,” Obama said.

These statements are certain to come back to haunt Romney in the weeks and months to come. The campaign ads write themselves.

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