Speaking before a few hundred cheering supporters in New Hampshire, the swing state where he launched his campaign nearly a year ago, Mr Romney offered himself as a rescuer of the US economy and its workers and vowed that "a better America begins tonight".
"To all of the thousands of good and decent Americans I’ve met who want nothing more than a better chance, a fighting chance, to all of you, I have a simple message: Hold on a little longer," he said.
The speech appeared to draw much of its inspiration from Ronald Reagan, offering both a vision of American optimism while at the same time asking voters to consider President Barack Obama's impact on their own lives.
While running to unseat Jimmy Carter in 1980, Reagan asked simply: "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" Tonight, Mr Romney asked: "What do we have to show for three and a half years of President Obama?"
Accusing Mr Obama of presiding over high unemployment and stagnant economic growth, the former Massachusetts governor adopted some of his harshest rhetoric yet, saying: "Because he has failed, he will run a campaign of diversions, distractions, and distortions." » | Peter Foster in Manchester, New Hampshire and Raf Sanchez in Washington | Wednesday, April 25, 2012
