Fact-checking the new Mitt Romney book “No Apology”

Republican Mitt Romney hasn’t declared his candidacy for president in 2012, but he has taken what has increasingly become a key resume requirement for those who plan to run: He’s written a book.

Romney recently released No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, in which he lays out his thinking on an array of issues facing America, including foreign policy, education, health care and energy.

We’ve fact-checked a few statements from Romney’s book and comments he’s made promoting it.

• The title comes from Romney’s argument  that several times, Obama “has apologized for what he deems to be American arrogance, dismissiveness, and derision; for dictating solutions, for acting unilaterally … .” We looked into the speeches that Romney listed, and found that while Obama has said the United States has made mistakes in the past, he stopped short of formal apologies. So we rated Romney’s statement False.

• Romney argues that the current U.S. health care system is wasteful and inefficient. “The lifespan of the average American is less than that of people in nations that spend far less (on health care). … To put it bluntly, we spend more and die sooner,” Romney wrote. We found he was correct that the United States spends more without better results, so we rated his statement True. Romney opposes the Democratic plans for health care reform because he believes they give too much power to the federal government.

• In an interview promoting his book, Romney said that Obama “has done several things well. Most of those things are places where he changed his view from where he had during the campaign. So, for instance, he’s left our troops in Iraq and they’re being more successful there. He boosted our effort in Afghanistan, which is the right course to take. He did not close Guantanamo, thank heavens.” We found that Obama has not changed position from what he said he would do during the campaign, so we rated Romney’s statement False.