Perry Botches Attack on Romney

CHRIS WALLACE: Governor Romney, the other day Governor Perry called Romneycare socialized medicine. He said it has failed in Western Europe and in Massachusetts, and he warns that Republicans should not nominate, his words, Obama-lite. How do you respond to Governor Perry?

MITT ROMNEY: I don't think he knows what he was talking about in that -- in that regard. Let me tell you this about our system in Massachusetts: 92 percent of our people were insured before we put our plan in place. Nothing's changed for them. The system is the same. They have private market-based insurance. We had 8 percent of our people that weren't insured.  And so what we did is we said let's find a way to get them insurance, again, market-based private insurance.  We didn't come up with some new government insurance plan. Our plan in Massachusetts has some good parts, some bad parts, some things I'd change, some things I like about it.  It's different than Obamacare. And what you -- what you heard from Herman Cain is one absolutely key point, which is Obamacare intends to put someone between you and your physician.  It must be repealed.  And if I'm president of the United States, on my first day in office, I will issue an executive order which directs the secretary of health and human services to provide a waiver from Obamacare to all 50 states.  That law is bad; it's unconstitutional; it shall not stand.

(APPLAUSE)

WALLACE: Governor -- Governor Perry, 30 seconds to respond.

RICK PERRY: I think Americans just don't know sometimes which Mitt Romney they're dealing with.  Is it the Mitt Romney that was on the side of against the Second Amendment before he was for the Second Amendment?  Was it -- was before he was before the social programs, from the standpoint of he was for standing up for Roe v. Wade before he was against Roe v. Wade?  He was for Race to the Top, he's for Obamacare, and now he's against it.  I mean, we'll wait until tomorrow and -- and -- and see which Mitt Romney we're really talking to tonight.

WALLACE: Governor Romney?

ROMNEY: I'll use the same term again: Nice try.

(LAUGHTER)

Governor, I'm -- I wrote a book two years ago, and I laid out in that book what my views are on a wide range of issues. I'm a conservative businessman.  I haven't spent my life in politics.  I spent my life in business.  I know how jobs come, how jobs go.  My positions are laid out in that book.  I stand by them. Governor Perry, you wrote a book six months ago.  You're already retreating from the positions that were in that book.

PERRY: Not an -- not an -- not an inch, sir.

ROMNEY: Yeah, well, in that book, it says that Social Security was forced upon the American people.  It says that, by any measure, Social Security is a failure.  Not to 75 million people.  And you also said that -- that Social Security should be returned to the states. Now, those are the positions in your book.  And simply, in my view, I'm stand by my positions.  I'm proud of them. There are a lot of reasons not to elect me, a lot of reasons not to elect other people on this stage, but one reason to elect me is that I know what I stand for, I've written it down.  Words have meaning, and I have the experience to get this country going again.