Winter storm warnings in northern Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support


      MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) - Mitt Romney is opening his first formal
day as a 2012 Republican presidential contender with a direct
challenge to the man he wants to replace and is pitching himself as
ready to repair the nation's struggling economy. "Barack Obama has
failed America," he says.


      In excerpts of a kick-off speech released ahead of his formal
announcement Thursday, Romney's campaign message homes in on the
economic woes that top voters' frustrations: a lack of jobs,
persistent foreclosures and runaway spending in Washington.


      It's a pitch tailored to the conservatives who hold great sway
in picking the GOP's presidential nominee in Iowa and South
Carolina - and the independents who are the largest politic bloc in
New Hampshire. And it is as much a thesis on his viability as it is
an indictment of Obama's leadership.


      "A few years ago, Americans did something that was, actually,
very much the sort of thing Americans like to do: We gave someone
new a chance to lead, someone we hadn't known for very long, who
didn't have much of a record but promised to lead us to a better
place," Romney says, describing the man he hopes to face
head-to-head in November 2012.


      "At the time, we didn't know what sort of a president he would
make. ... Now, in the third year of his four-year term, we have
more than promises and slogans to go by. Barack Obama has failed
America."


      In the speech, the former Massachusetts governor launches into a
scathing critique of Washington, a place where he never has served.
Decrying federal spending, the one-term governor promises, "My
generation will pass the torch to the next generation, not a
bill."


      Romney comes to a presidential contest that lacks a
front-runner. In the past week, the still-jelling field became less
certain with hints that Texas Gov. Rick Perry was considering a
bid. Tea party darling Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota is
inching toward a run, perhaps giving the anti-tax,
libertarian-leaning grassroots movement a candidate to rally
around.


      Romney sought to claim a slice of that constituency when
describing families struggling to get by.


      "It doesn't matter if they are Republican or Democrat,
independent or libertarian," Romney says in remarks he was to
deliver at a farm in Stratham. "They're just Americans. An
American family."


      Meanwhile. Sarah Palin, her party's 2008 vice presidential
nominee, continued a bus tour that highlighted not only her
potential to upend the race but also served as a contrast to the
lackluster enthusiasm for those already running for president. She
was set to appear in New Hampshire at a clambake Thursday, although
her aides and advisers were not providing schedules and her
supporters in the state were left looking for guidance.


      Meanwhile, Romney has built an experienced political team,
collected serious campaign cash and crafted a campaign that is
ready to go full-bore. While his likely opponents have struggled to
get the spotlight, Romney largely has worked in private to
fine-tune his political machine. He has chosen to weigh in through
statements and editorial pages instead of interviews with
journalists or town halls with voters.


      On Friday, Romney starts to shift that strategy. He has
scheduled his first town hall-style meeting for Manchester and
later planned to speak at a Faith and Freedom forum in Washington.


      His speeches have honed his criticism of Obama and promised
alternatives in the coming months. Yet party leaders haven't
rallied around him. To that end, Romney hopes his tough talk will
inspire support.


      "We are only inches away from ceasing to be a free market
economy," he says, decrying Obama's health care overhaul - a
federal version of the one Romney signed into law for
Massachusetts.


      "From my first day in office my No. 1 job will be to see that
America once again is No. 1 in job creation."
      

Gallery

Politics and Government News

Mitt Romney is opening his first formal
day as a 2012 Republican presidential contender with a direct
challenge to the man he wants to replace and is pitching himself as
ready to repair the nation's struggling economy. "Barack Obama has
failed America," he says.

2008 Republican National Convention: Day 2

Romney: 'Barack Obama has failed America'

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox