In this sentence, "than" needs "more."

I did a column recently on comparative and superlative wording. Here is another problem sentence in that area--this one from an Associated Press article about the new President's Cabinet picks. It appeared in The Birmingham News this week:

"But the health post could be key in an Obama administration than in some others, making Daschle a key player in helping steer the president-elect's promised health care reforms."

This is probably just a proofreading error by a reporter who left out the word "more" and then didn't catch the omission. If you say THAN, you are implying a comparison, so you need the word MORE in front of what is being compared. In this case, what is being compared is HOW key, or important, the post of Health and Human Services Secretary will be in this administration as COMPARED to other administrations. The sentence should read as follows:

But the health post could be more key in an Obama administration than in some others, making Daschle a key player in helping steer the president-elect's promised health care reforms.

So, stay focused when you are creating comparative and superlative statements, and ALWAYS proofread to be sure you expressed the relationship as you meant to.