TPM2012

Obama Previews Aggressive Defense Of Health Care Mandate

President Obama speaks before reporters at the Rose Garden outside the White House on March 13, 2012.

Evan McMorris-Santoro March 22, 2012, 9:05 AM

President Obama has one word for Republican critics of his health care law as the battle over his reform shifts to the Supreme Court: Massachusetts. If that’s not enough, he’s got two other words: Mitt Romney.

In an interview with the public radio show “Marketplace” broadcast Thursday, Obama previewed an aggressive defense against Republican critics of the legislation that centered on contrasting his law with that of his likely GOP opponent, Romney, who shepherded a very similar law while governor of Massachusetts.

Asked why the law didn’t have more popular support, Obama quickly pivoted to an attack on Romney.

“Well, I would have loved to have gotten it done quicker, which is part of the reason why we designed a program that actually previously had support of Republicans — including the person who may end up being the Republican standard bearer and is now pretending like he came up with something different,” Obama said.

When it came to a question about continuing opposition to the mandates on the state level, Obama again deflected by pivoting to Romney.

“[I]t will be very hard for any governor to explain why it is that they’re not giving people — and small businesses, not just individuals — an opportunity to get cheaper health insurance, better deal, more protections because of some ideological argument that they’re having with the president,” Obama said. “And when people see that in fact it works, it makes sense — as it’s, by the way, working in Massachusetts — then I think a whole bunch of folks will say, ‘Why aren’t we trying it as well?’”

Listen to the whole thing:

Obama has used this kind of messaging before, but in the context of the looming Supreme Court case evaluating the constitutionality of the law set to begin Monday and focus starting to shift away from the GOP primary to a general election fight with Romney as the nominee, the interview suggests Obama is prepared to mount an aggressive defense of the mandate as the campaign moves forward.

Republicans mocked Obama for not making a big production out of the two-year anniversary of health care reform this week, which they view as a boondoggle and a massive political liability. Indeed, Obama’s own campaign shied away from the controversial aspects of reform — namely, the insurance coverage mandate — when kicking off the larger Obama reelection narrative last week.

Romney’s presidential primary opponents and conservative detractors have repeatedly warned that putting the former Massachusetts governor at the top of the ticket takes some of the wind out of Republican sails when it comes to the mandate. Now, with his reform law poised to face its biggest challenge yet, Obama seems eager to prove their point.