Sometimes the stage overwhelms the message

The folks over at The Trail have a fun post about Mitt Romney's dash to criticize Hillary Clinton's new healthcare plan. It seems the former Massachusetts governor summoned the media to a sidewalk outside St. Vincent's Hospital to dismiss the proposal as "bad medicine."

The press conference was held on a public street in New York City, but the hospital objected to Romney's attempt to use its facility as a stage backdrop -- and perhaps imply the medical institution was taking political sides.

"We find it unfortunate that Mr. Romney misappropriated the image and good will of St. Vincent's Hospital to further a political agenda," hospital spokesman Michael Fagan said in a statement. "While St. Vincent's believes that there needs to be real discussion about healthcare reform and finding ways to provide coverage to the now 47 million Americans without health insurance, it is inappropriate for the hospital to be used for political gain."

The punchline, The Trail points out: The hospital is home to the Rudolph W. Giuliani Trauma Center. Sounds like it might be time for a little triage for the Romney advance team.

-- Scott Martelle