Romney Schools Jay Carney

By Jake Tapper and Emily Friedman, ABC News

Earlier today, Carney had been asked about Romney’s criticism of the Obama administration rule requiring most employers – including religious schools and hospitals — to offer health insurance that fully covers contraception.

“The former governor of Massachusetts is an odd messenger on this given that the services that this rule would provide for women around the country are the same that are provided in Massachusetts and were provided…when he was governor,” Carney said. “This is, I think, ironic, the fact that Mitt Romney is expressing — criticizing the president for pursuing a policy that is virtually identical to the one that was in place when he was governor of Massachusetts.”

Romney said that “that provision was put in Massachusetts before I was governor, and then when I was governor I tried to have it removed in our health care plan. So in the working on our health care plan I worked very hard to get the legislature to remove all of the mandated coverages, including contraception. So quite clearly he needs to understand that was a provision that got there before I did and it was one that I fought to remove.”