Romney: 'Barack Obama Has Failed America'

Updated: June 2, 2011 | 2:53 p.m.
June 2, 2011 | 1:17 p.m.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney made his campaign for president official on Thursday, telling supporters in New Hampshire that President Obama "has failed America."

"It breaks my heart to see what's happening in this great country," a tie-less Romney told a flag-waving crowd gathered on a sunny, windy day to hear him deliver a speech ripping the president's domestic and foreign policies and touting his own record as an executive. He promised a balanced federal budget and "a complete repeal of ObamaCare."

"From my first day in office, my No. 1 job will be to see that America is once again No. 1 in job creation," Romney said. "It's time for a president who cares more about America's workers than he does about America's union bosses."

Romney enters the presidential race as one of the weakest front-runners in GOP history. Many conservatives have demanded he apologize for passing a health care law in Massachusetts that included a mandate to buy insurance—the same individual mandate included in President Obama’s health care bill. Romney has thus far refused, arguing states should be allowed to address their health care problems individually.

The site of his announcement is not a coincidence: Romney must win the Granite State to claim the GOP’s nomination. He's a near-favorite son, having served as governor of neighboring Massachusetts, and he owns a home in the state that will host the first presidential primary next year. Romney leads all early polls in New Hampshire, and has focused much of his early campaign efforts there.