US presidential polls: Obama running out of ideas, says Romney

United States President Barack Obama has run out of ideas and excuses, White House hopeful Mitt Romney has said as he claimed victory in the crucial New Hampshire Republican primary after early results showed him taking 36 per cent of the vote.

Launching a scatting attack on Obama, who would be his opponent in the November elections if he bags the Republican presidential nomination, Romney alleged that the US president made loft promises to Americans four years ago.

"The president has run out of ideas. Now, he's running out of excuses," Romney said in New Hampshire.

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"We remember when Barack Obama came to New Hampshire four years ago. He promised to bring people together. He promised to change the broken system in Washington. He promised to improve our nation.

Those were the days of lofty promises made by a hopeful candidate. Today, we are faced with the disappointing record of a failed president. The last three years have held a lot of change, but they haven't offered much hope," Romney said.

"The middle class has been crushed. Nearly 24 million of our fellow Americans are still out of work, struggling to find work, or have just stopped looking. The median income has dropped 10 per cent in four years. Soldiers returning from the front lines are waiting in unemployment lines. Our debt is too high and our opportunities too few," Romney alleged.

Romney, who now moves to South Carolina, where again he is leading in latest opinion polls, said in this campaign he will offer the American ideals of economic freedom a clear and unapologetic defense.

"Our campaign is about more than replacing a president; it is about saving the soul of America. This election is a choice between two very different destinies," he said reading from a teleprompter.

"President Obama wants to 'fundamentally transform' America. We want to restore America to the founding principles that made this country great. He wants to turn America into a European-style entitlement society. We want to ensure that we remain a free and prosperous land of opportunity," he said.

"This president takes his inspiration from the capitals of Europe; we look to the cities and small towns of America. This president puts his faith in government. We put our faith in the American people. He is making the federal government bigger, burdensome, and bloated. I will make it simpler, smaller, and smarter," he said.

"He raised the national debt. I will cut, cap, and balance the budget. He enacted job-killing regulations; I'll eliminate them. He lost our AAA credit rating; I'll restore it. He passed Obamacare; I'll repeal it," Romney said amidst applause from the audience.

Romney said when it comes to the economy, his highest priority as president will be worrying about peoples job, not saving his own. "Internationally, President Obama has adopted an appeasement strategy. He believes America's role as leader in the world is a thing of the past. I believe a strong America must -- and will -- lead the future," he said. "He doesn't see the need for overwhelming American military superiority. I will insist on a military so powerful no one would think of challenging it. He chastises friends like Israel; I'll stand with our friends. He apologises for

America; I will never apologise for the greatest nation in the history of the Earth," Romney said.

"We still believe in the America that is a land of opportunity and a beacon of freedom. We believe in the America that challenges each of us to be better and bigger than ourselves," Romney said.

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