Mitt's myth of healthcare
MITT ROMNEY is looking at a pretty political picture: himself, after Massachusetts adopted new healthcare legislation.
The Republican governor snatched nearly all the credit for addressing a classic Democratic issue -- increasing access to health insurance.
Bay State Democrats turned up as grinning props for a Romney bill-signing extravaganza at Faneuil Hall. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the great liberal lion, stood declawed and smiling behind Romney. Senate President Robert E. Travaglini and House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi played guffawing supporting roles in Romney's campaign commercial.
Right on cue, the national press is falling in love -- and Massachusetts Democrats are falling in line.
In Newsweek, Jonathan Alter gushed about the governor in a column headlined ''A rising star, out of the blue." In the Los Angeles Times, Ronald Brownstein quoted John Sasso, the veteran Democratic strategist who worked as a top adviser to John Kerry during the 2004 presidential campaign, in praise of Romney: ''He put ideas on the table . . . then he handled the politics well," said Sasso, who lobbied Beacon Hill on behalf of healthcare providers. ''He was working constructively . . . to get something done."
A love affair between Romney and the national media is predictable. The Beltway crowd of presidential contenders is a generally dull lot, and even Senator John McCain is less exciting the second time around. Besides, the Arizona Republican is getting the front-runner's treatment. The political right is criticizing him as a closet liberal and the political left as a not-so-secret conservative. McCain also faces the problem of all presidential candidates who hail from Congress. Credit is hard to come by. And consensus is always difficult to achieve. It is even more difficult when the issues of the day are as volatile as Iraq and immigration and a president is as unpopular as George W. Bush.
For Romney, the fallout from the healthcare package doesn't get any better than this: Today, he basks in applause and headlines. Tomorrow's funding headaches are the next governor's problem.
DiMasi did have the guts to warn Romney from the Faneuil Hall podium, ''To change anything will disturb the delicate balance that made this law possible." But the speaker's words were ignored.
Afterward, Romney vetoed the section that held business responsible for some costs of the expanded coverage. Clearly, this probable Republican presidential contender considers it more important to appease conservatives than to make sure his healthcare promises to Massachusetts citizens are financially sustainable after he leaves the governor's office.
True bipartisanship is welcome, but Romney is making a joke of it, and Bay State Democrats are going along. Why?
Are they so desperate for a president with Massachusetts connections that they do not care if he is a conservative Republican who pretended to be moderate when he ran for governor? If the legislation fails to deliver on its promise -- a plausible scenario, according to some specialists -- do they believe Romney will accept all the blame, just because he took all the credit?
Romney shouldn't be demonized, but his role in this legislation deserves to be demythified. His big idea -- the personal mandate -- is about punishing people who don't have health insurance. Democrats, especially DiMasi, pushed for expanded access for the poorest citizens and demanded that business accept some moral and financial responsibility for employee health insurance.
It is true that in 1988 Michael S. Dukakis used healthcare legislation the same way Romney is using it today. Backed by a Democratic Legislature in support of a Democratic presidential candidate, the Dukakis universal healthcare plan required employers to provide health insurance.
The Dukakis plan was never implemented and was eventually repealed because of intense opposition from the business community. It should serve as a lesson in political humility and reason for media skepticism. But modesty is rarely considered a political virtue, particularly on the presidential campaign trail; and caution is not a word beloved by headline writers. That is why history too often repeats itself, instead of serving to keep politicians and the press from repeating the same mistake.
During the 2000 campaign, complaints ricocheted through the media that Al Gore implied that he ''invented" the Internet. It became a national joke, even though that is not what Gore said. Now, in 2006, Romney ''invents" universal healthcare, and the political world swoons.
You're looking good, Mitt.
Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com. 
