Pawlenty renews health care attack against Romney

Tim Pawlenty is back on the attack against Mitt Romney, suggesting the health care plan he passed in Massachusetts makes him a weak candidate against President Obama.

"I don't think you can prosecute the political case against President Obama if you are a co-conspirator on one of the main charges against the president on a political level," Pawlenty said in an interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity.

The former Minnestoa governor's comments come after he backed off a harsh critique of Romney's health care plan during a 2012 presidential debate Monday night.

Last Sunday, Pawlenty coined the term "Obamneycare" in an attempt to connect the bill Romney passed in Massachusetts to Obama's legislation. It was the first time he'd openly criticized Romney on the issue, but on Monday, he refused to repeat the charge--prompting days of criticism.

On Thursday, Pawlenty admitted he had screwed up. "On seizing debate opportunity re: healthcare: Me 0, Mitt 1. On doing healthcare reform the right way as governor: Me 1, Mitt 0," Pawlenty said in a message on Twitter.

He offered a similar mea culpa to Fox News last night. "I should have been much more clear during the debate," Pawlenty told Hannity. "I don't think we can have a nominee that was involved in the development and construction of Obamacare and then continues to defend it."

Pawlenty's renewed push comes as he continues to struggle in early 2012 polling. For months, the ex-governor battled low name recognition in the polls, but a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday suggests the more people get to know Pawlenty the more "meh" they are about him.

(Photo of Romney, Ron Paul and Pawlenty: Darren McCollester/Getty Images)