The former Massachusetts governor said that by choosing Mr Obama in 2008 voters "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".
"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," he said, in prepared remarks.
Given the high profile he developed as a Republican contender in the 2008 primary, Mr Romney has polled poorly compared to lesser known figures, rarely leading by more than a few percentage points and often coming second.
But he has raised prodigious amounts of money, including $10 million in a single day last month, and has spent the past two years quietly building a campaign network that is unrivalled by any of his competitors.
He chose to officially launch his campaign on a farm in New Hampshire, a key early voting state in the primary schedule, which begins in February next year and will last several months. The presidential vote will be held on Nov 6, 2012. » | Alex Spillius, Washington | Thursday, June 02, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Why Mitt Romney could be president » | Alex Spillius, Washington | Thursday, June 02, 2011
