Perry, Romney continue in GOP primary spotlight

News outlets report on the ongoing sparring between the two candidates and on Perry's health policy record as Texas governor. Meanwhile, Michele Bachmann points to her rivals' positions on issues including health care and says Republicans should not settle for a moderate candidate. Also, NPR flashes back to GOP candidate Herman Cain's 1994 debate performance. And, on the other side of the political spectrum, The Associated Press reports that Democrats are shifting their campaign message away from the health law and toward Medicare.

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Perry Ad Spotlights Romney's Book Edits On Health Care
Presidential candidate Rick Perry offered a sign of things to come in his intensifying battle with rival Mitt Romney. On Monday, Mr. Perry's campaign released an Internet video that highlights changes to Mr. Romney's book, "No Apology," regarding perhaps Mr. Romney's biggest liability with GOP primary voters: the health care reform law he signed while governor of Massachusetts. In the original version of the book, which came out in 2010, Mr. Romney boasted that, "We can accomplish the same thing for everyone in the country, and it can be done without letting government take over health care." The paperback version released a year later reads, "And it was done without the government taking over health care" (Yadron, 9/26).

Boston Globe: Rick Perry Hits Mitt Romney Over Deletion Between Book Editions
Texas Governor Rick Perry is hitting former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney on comments he made in an early version of his much-touted book, "No Apology," only to delete them in the paperback that followed. A video released by the Perry campaign today focuses on Romney's initial claim that health insurance reform in Massachusetts would ensure that everyone gets portable, affordable health insurance (Schoenberg, 9/26). 

Kaiser Health News: Perry's Medicaid Plan Secret: Dems Like It
Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver, working in collaboration with Politico, reports: "Texas Gov. Rick Perry publicly floated dropping out of Medicaid less than a year ago to cut spending -; but now the state is quietly revamping the health care safety net for the poor in a way even some Democrats can get behind. The Medicaid proposal, which came up in Thursday's Republican presidential debate, could prove increasingly inconvenient for Perry's presidential campaign narrative" (Weaver, 9/26).

Des Moines Register: Bachmann Says Republicans Need Authentic Conservative Like Her
Michele Bachmann urged Republicans not to settle for a moderate candidate in 2012 and held herself out as the conservative ideal in an afternoon swing through Iowa on Monday. ... She blasted Perry and Romney on the health care law, arguing neither has offered a strong enough pledge to repeal it. Both have said they would stop implementation of the law with an executive order, Bachmann argued (Noble, 9/26).

NPR: Flashback: Herman Cain's 1994 Bill Clinton Debate On Health Care (with video)
Herman Cain, who won the Florida Republican presidential straw poll over the weekend, is no newbie when it comes to showing up career politicians. ... [Candidate Bill] Clinton was pitching his ill-fated health care plan at a town hall-style meeting in Kansas City when Cain, who was leaving the pizza store chain to head up the National Restaurant Association, told the president that his proposed overhaul would wind up costing his company significantly more than the president's figures suggested (James, 9/26).

The Associated Press: Analysis: Democrats Hit Reset On Health Care
Democrats are hitting the reset button on health care for next year's elections. Weary of getting pounded over the new health overhaul law, President Barack Obama and his party are changing the subject to Medicare (Alonso-Zaldivar, 9/27).