Mitt Romney is ‘proud’ of Massachusetts health care plan

Amid criticism from fellow Republicans, Mitt Romney has strenuously avoided direct mention of the health care package he passed as governor of Massachusetts, omitting any reference to it in his recent speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

But after several days of attacks from potential GOP rival Mike Huckabee, who has suggested Romney "apologize" for the plan, a Romney spokesman tells the Boston Globe the ex-governor is "proud" of the plan.

"Mitt Romney is proud of what he accomplished for Massachusetts in getting everyone covered," Romney's spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom told the Globe's Matt Viser. "What's important now is to return to the states the power to determine their own healthcare solutions by repealing Obamacare. A one-size-fits-all plan for the entire nation just doesn't work."

It's unclear how that talking point will play with GOP primary voters, who may find it tough to distinguish Romney's plan from President Obama's health care proposal given both included individual mandates for coverage. In an attempt to perhaps undermine a rival, the White House has gone out of its way to link Obama's plan to what Romney passed. "We got some good ideas from him," Obama adviser David Axelrod said last month.

The question of whether Romney can distance his plan from Obama's seems potentially crucial to his campaign. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Thursday found that 84 percent of Republicans polled have an unfavorable view of "Obamacare."

Still, Huckabee has been careful to add he doesn't believe the issue will sink Romney in 2012. "I think it's not a killer for him. But he has to say either 'I love it,' 'I hate it,' or, 'Hey I tried it, it didn't work and that's why I would say to you, let's not do it nationally,'" Huckabee told the AP.

(Photo of Romney: Alex Brandon/AP)