ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty is knocking his Republican debate performance in his personal scorebook while getting in another dig at rival Mitt Romney's health care record.
The former Minnesota governor conceded Thursday in a Twitter post that he failed to capitalize during the New Hampshire debate. Pawlenty declined to back up his pre-debate description of a Romney health care program as "Obamneycare" — a suggestion Massachusetts supplied the model for the maligned federal law pushed by President Barack Obama.
Pawlenty's comment on Twitter gave Romney one point and himself zero for "seizing debate opportunity." But Pawlenty reverses the score for "doing healthcare reform the right way as governor."
A Pawlenty spokesman says the post was written by Pawlenty himself, not staff. A Romney aide didn't immediately offer reaction.
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