U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney begins his post-convention campaign Friday with rallies in states that will be key battlegrounds in the November election against President Barack Obama.
Mr. Romney, along with his vice-presidential running mate Paul Ryan, will hold rallies in Florida, Virginia and Ohio. The Republican candidate accepted his party's nomination Thursday night by pledging to “restore the promise of America.”
Mr. Romney told the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida that he wished President Obama had succeeded during his four years in office, because he wants the U.S. to succeed. But, Mr. Romney said, the president's promises “gave way to disappointment and division,” and Americans “deserve better.”
“This president can tell us it was someone else's fault. This president can tell us that the next four years, he'll get it right. But this president cannot tell us that you are better off today than when he took office.”
Mr. Romney said that if elected president, he will use a five-step plan to improve the economy and create 12 million jobs. He also promised “less flexibility and more backbone” in global diplomacy, along with “more loyalty” to U.S. allies such as Israel.
The convention night included an appearance from film star Clint Eastwood, who received a roar from the crowd when he referred to politicians as “employees” of citizens who need to be let go when they do not “do the job.”
Mr. Romney — a one-time venture capitalist and former governor of Massachusetts — says he can boost the country's sluggish economy with lower taxes and less government regulation. But Mr. Obama, the Democratic incumbent, says a Romney presidency would result in a return to policies that led to the country's worst economic downturn since the 1930s.
Nationwide voter surveys show the two candidates in a virtual tie 10 weeks ahead of the November 6 election. Voters say they think Mr. Romney would be better suited to fix the nation's economy, but they like Mr. Obama more.
The Democrats will hold their convention next week in Charlotte, North Carolina.
