The founder of Staples, Thomas Stemberg, died Friday. He and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney were close, as Romney’s firm invested in Stemberg’s office supply company. And as Romney told the Boston Globe, that if it were not for Stemberg, we might not have ObamaCare, as it was he who suggested that Romney, then-governor of Massachusetts, help make health care more affordable. “Without Tom pushing it, I don’t think we would have had Romneycare,” Romney reminisced. “Without Romneycare, I don’t think we would have Obamacare. So without Tom, a lot of people wouldn’t have health insurance.” Romney’s statement is a good example of why conservatives never really took to him in 2012. He spoke conservatism as a second language, and then only because he had to. He’s a technocrat who just wants government to work; he’s not a thoughtful conservative. Granted, Romney did backpedal on his comments with a post on Facebook Friday, where he said, “I oppose ObamaCare and believe it has failed. … I’d repeal it and replace it with state-crafted plans.” But seeing the trends toward federalization, we would have eventually arrived at a federalized system under Romney’s policy.

Speaking about ObamaCare, the open enrollment for 2016 will open in a few days and the news hasn’t changed over the past three years: fewer people signing up than the government predicted and double-digit premium spikes. As The Wall Street Journal opined, Barack Obama’s signature legislation will probably need a rewrite in two years.