Romney: Liberals given too much say in health care

WASHINGTON — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney says President Barack Obama is struggling in efforts to get a health care overhaul bill because he has been too deferential to the liberal wing of his party.

Interviewed from Boston Thursday on CBS’s “The Early Show,“ Romney said he thinks the president must shoulder the blame for the gridlocked situation surrounding health care legislation. He said Obama gave too much influence “to (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi” and others.

Romney said that “if the president wants to get something done, he needs to put aside the extreme liberal wing of his party.“ Romney, who ran for the Republican presidential nod last year, said Medicare and Medicaid already account for virtually half of health care there shouldn’t be any greater federal role.