Romney: Obama has failed America
2011-06-02 16:00
Manchester - 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 on Thursday, Romney's campaign message homes in on the economic woes that top voters' frustrations.
"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."
- AP
