Romney Accuses Obama of ‘Fundamental Dishonesty’ on Health Care

Former Republican presidential nominee says the President lied to Americans when he told them they could keep their existing health-insurance plans

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Days after President Barack Obama visited Massachusetts to trump his signature health care law, former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, the architect of the Massachusetts health care law that served as a model for the national bill, accused the President of lying when he told Americans that they could keep their existing health-insurance plans.

“I think that fundamental dishonesty has put in peril the entire basis for his second term,” Romney said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press. Insurers are canceling plans that don’t meet the Affordable Care Act’s standards, forcing those on the individual market with those plans to search for a new plan that meets the law’s criteria.

In the interview with David Gregory, Romney pushed back on some of the revelations in a new book on last year’s presidential campaign, Double Down: Game Change 2012. “No one could have worked harder than myself and my family did for the campaign,” Romney said, responding to claims he didn’t want to win the White House. “We were all in 100%.”

(MORE: Obama Says Romney’s Example Shows Health Care Reform Will Work)

Romney also defended New Jersey Governor Chris Christie from revelations in the book that he did not fully cooperate with the candidate’s team of lawyers who were vetting the outspoken governor as a potential vice-presidential pick. “There’s nothing they found that wasn’t part of the record,” Romney said. “There’s nothing new there.”

“They don’t come better than Chris Christie,” he added. “That’s the kind of popularity and track record the GOP needs if we’re going to take back the White House.”

Asked about the 2016 crop of Republican contenders, Romney said the front runners for the GOP nod are Christie, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and former vice-presidential nominee Representative Paul Ryan. Romney said the party “will be very anxious to choose someone in 2016 who has the best prospect of actually winning.” When asked specifically about Tea Party favorite Senator Ted Cruz, Romney said he didn’t wish to disqualify anyone, but already made his prediction.

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