After all, in 2012 Romney lost all but one of the battleground states, trailed President Barack Obama 332-206 in electoral votes and Republicans panned his gaffe-prone campaign, chaotic convention and creaky tech operation.
One working theory behind Romney 3.0 — he thinks he got it right on the big issues that decided the last election and that voters have got buyers remorse.
“He is been proven right on so many of the issues, certainly domestic policy but (also) foreign policy. He almost looked prophetic there talking about Russia and talking about the war on terror,” said Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
Aides have told reporters, including CNN’s Gloria Borger, that Romney sees vindication in a world tipping into chaos and an economic recovery that left the middle class behind.
At the GOP’s winter meeting in San Diego on Friday, Romney said he has given “serious consideration” to a new run for the presidency, and his lacerating criticism of Obama suggested he believes he has earned his chance.
So how do Romney’s critiques and promises stand up as he yet again sets foot on the road to the White House?
Foreign policy
Romney’s best case for proving he was right may lie overseas.
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Statistics don’t yet offer a full picture of Obamacare’s impact on costs — and the law has so upended the health care industry it is difficult to draw firm conclusions.
But a Kaiser Foundation survey found that health care costs for family coverage in employer-sponsored plans rose 3% in 2014, well below Romney’s figure.
In the wider marketplace, the picture is complicated because some people who did not have health care before can now get it under Obamacare.
Others have chosen better plans now available which may cost more. And some patients who bought Obamacare are now paying less for health care. Total spending for health care in the nation rose 3.6% in 2013, slower than the 4.1% rise the year before, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Growth in private health insurance premiums meanwhile grew at 2.8% in 2013 compared to 4.0% the year before. But Republicans point to extra costs — claiming for instance that many people now face higher deductables.
Romney was correct to say however that millions of Americans would lose their insurance policies under Obamacare, rejecting the president’s health care whopper “If you like your health plan you can keep your health plan.”
But that’s only half the story. While many people lost plans — some because they did not reach quality thresholds set by Obamacare — the White House says millions also signed up to new policies.
Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bear out that claim, finding that in the first half of 2014, 12.2% of Americans had no health insurance, compared to 17.3% the year before.
