Part And Parcel

Mitt Romney, call your office.  Now.

Mitt Romney said Sunday that he likes parts of ‘Obamacare’ and will keep key provisions involving pre-existing conditions and young people.

“I’m not getting rid of all of health care reform. Of course there are a number of things that I like in health care reform that I’m going to put in place,” he said on NBC’s “Meet The Press. “One is to make sure that those with pre-existing conditions can get coverage. Two is to assure that the marketplace allows for individuals to have policies that cover their family up to whatever age they might like.”

The remarks could have huge implications as they signal a marked shift from Romney’s strong, unequivocal support for full repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which he has consistently held since the Republican primaries.

Politically, the pivot risks drawing the ire of conservatives, who have been adamant that Republicans repeal the law in its entirety if elected. It’s a major gamble that could reflect Romney’s need to win over more independent voters, who support those provisions.

And with that, the Romney post-convention meltdown is pretty much complete at this point.  Obama is up significantly now over the last several days, and now Romney has dropped this bombshell on the base after signaling that he was going to go hard after Obama.

It's ridonkulous.  Mitt Romney is atrociously bad at campaigning.  He really is the only guy who could have taken what should have been a decent chance of a Republican win and totally screwed it.  I mean the rest of the GOP pack would have either have already alienated the base to the point of getting filleted in the primaries (Huntsman, Huckabee) or never gotten above 40% in the general (everyone else).  Romney was the best shot they had...and he was screwed from day one.

Here's the thing however.  Mitt Romney didn't even make it through Sunday without completely flip-flopping on that position.

In reference to how Romney would deal with those with preexisting conditions and young adults who want to remain on their parents’ plans, a Romney aide responded that there had been no change in Romney’s position and that “in a competitive environment, the marketplace will make available plans that include coverage for what there is demand for. He was not proposing a federal mandate to require insurance plans to offer those particular features.”

Pull up a chair.  This is going to get ugly.  Romney's a complete laughingstock.  The last 96 hours have been an utter disaster for the man.  He's fading into "done" territory at breakneck speed here.  Watch this week carefully.