Norm Coleman: Obamacare won't be repealed, despite what Romney says

Coleman put his foot in his mouth, but Romney still has millions of good reasons to keep him around.

​Remember Norm Coleman? Seems like it's been a while since we've seen his name in the news.

Turns out, he's still quietly working as a "special adviser" to Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Well, quietly until last weekend, when he opened his mouth and said something Romney probably wishes he hadn't.

During an appearance on a public affairs TV program (video below the jump), Coleman said President Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act won't be repealed in its entirety -- something Romney has promised to do if he's elected president.

Coleman said:

You will not repeal the act in its entirety, but you will see major changes, particularly if there is a Republican president. You can't whole-cloth throw it out. But you can substantially change what's been done.

Romney's campaign moved quickly to distance itself from Coleman's remarks. The Hill quoted a Romney spokeswoman as saying "with all due respect to Sen. Coleman, he's wrong," adding that "Gov. Romney can and will repeal Obamacare and is committed to doing so."

Of course, whether or not a hypothetical Republican president would repeal Obamacare may be a moot point, as the Supreme Court could rule the law's key everyone-must-have-insurance provision unconstitutional when it considers an appeal to the Affordable Care Act this spring.

Despite Coleman's foot-in-mouth comments, Romney still has 26 million good reasons to keep him on staff -- that's the amount Coleman's American Action Network political organization spent during the 2010 election cycle.

Here's the video of Coleman's appearance on something called BioCentury This Week:

See also:
-- Norm Coleman hired to bring excitement, Jewishness to Mitt Romney's campaign