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pocketbook issues have risen to the fore, she said.
"People want to hear about new things. The economic issues that are pushing things right now is not [Medicare]," she said.
Talking about Medicare can be tricky for Republicans, especially in Florida. Conservative voters who view President Bush's role in creating the drug benefit as a low point of his presidency will want to hear that the Republicans seeking to succeed him will rein in, not add to, the entitlement spending burden. Older voters, on the other hand, are not likely to respond kindly to a candidate who promises to reduce their Medicare benefits.
Statements from the other Republican presidential candidates on the Medicare drug benefit illustrate that the GOP is not of one mind about the program.
Paul, a vehement opponent of entitlement-program spending, would seek to completely repeal the drug benefit. Like McCain, Paul voted against the 2003 Medicare drug bill, which he has dubbed "HillaryCare, Republican Style," likening the program to the health reform plan promoted by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) when she was first lady in the 1990s.
Huckabee, by contrast, endorsed the popular drug benefit in its current form. "The governor strongly supports the Medicare prescription-drug benefit and he does not believe it should be limited to low-income Americans. Congress considered that option [in 2003] and quite properly rejected it," a spokeswoman said in a written statement.
During a Fox News interview Wednesday, Romney said, "I think the Medicare Part D program should have been part of a broader Medicare reform program, and so that for me was something which I was concerned about. It added a multi-trillion dollar obligation to the balance sheet of our country. That gives me concern." Romney's campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
The Giuliani campaign made a similar statement to The Hill Friday: "Mayor Giuliani believes Medicare Part D has had pluses and minuses. It has been a successful program because of the free market principles which support it allowing seniors to get access to affordable prescription drugs. At the same time, the program has been too expensive and contributed to the fiscal problems which our nation faces in the coming decades. The mayor would seek to implement changes that allow greater free market access and increase competition, while lower the overall cost."
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