When Chris Wallace asked Mitt Romney on Fox News Sunday why he lost the election, one of the reasons Romney gave was, “Obamacare was very attractive, particularly [for] those without health insurance, and they came out in large numbers to vote, so that was part of a successful campaign.” Like much of the Republican response to the 2012 election, this is exactly the opposite conclusion from that which should be drawn.

Obamacare was the one issue that most pegged Obama as a big government liberal in the eyes of the American citizenry.  By refusing to emphasize it, Romney allowed Obama to move to the center in voters’ minds.  Obamacare was the centerpiece of Obama’s first term.  By not emphasizing it, Romney suggested to voters that it really wasn’t all that much of a concern — and hence neither was having Obama continue in office.  Obamacare was the least popular aspect of Obama’s first term.  By failing to hammer away at it, Romney handed Obama a pass.  Obamacare is a horribly misguided and statist attempt to deal with genuine health care concerns that sorely need to be addressed.  By failing to put forward (and to emphasize) a serious replacement, Romney prove to be the latest, and perhaps the most unfortunate, example in a long history of Republicans’ failure to make themselves heard on an issue that’s not only extremely important in its own right, but which (at least in the present day) probably has more bearing than any other issue on the size and scope of government.