That headline pretty much explains why this clip of top adviser, Eric Fehrnstrom, is getting so much buzz today.
On MSNBC this morning, he called the individual mandate in Massachusetts a "penalty"; not a tax.
If you remember, last week, Romney agreed with the Supreme Court's characterization of the mandate as a "tax" and used it to claim that Obama was raising $500 billion in taxes.
It's a tricky issue for Romney.
On the one hand, it's terrific politics to talk about the "ObamaCare tax", but on the other hand, Mitt would then have to concede that he helped implement the "RomneyCare tax."
Having said that, Democrats are also doing their own contorting on the issue.
Nancy Pelosi said:
"It's a penalty that comes under the tax code."
