Mitt Romney announces presidential bid

Narayan Lakshman

Washington: Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts and one of several frontrunner Republican Party candidates, has announced his presidential bid for 2012 through a campaign video that sought to fix the spotlight firmly on job-creation.

Mr. Romney, a multimillionaire businessman, is the second Republican candidate to throw his hat in the ring after Tim Pawlenty, former Governor of Minnesota. Others likely to enter the fray are the former Alaska Governor and Tea Party favourite, Sarah Palin, the former Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee, and the former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich.

On the Democratic side, only the incumbent, President Barack Obama, has declared his candidacy; through a campaign video that focused on campaign method — “people organising block-by-block, talking to neighbours, co-workers, and friends” — rather than any policy priority. In launching his campaign, Mr. Romney criticised Mr. Obama's policies for failing to create jobs quickly. Instead, he said, his own extensive private sector experience — he served, notably, as the CEO of management consulting major Bain and Company — had imbued him with the ability to get the United States economy back on track.

Having announcing an exploratory committee for his presidential run, Mr. Romney can now seek donations for his campaign, though he is expected to use a sizeable amount from his personal wealth. According to a Gallup poll last month, Mr. Romney, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich were “bunched in the top tier while another dozen or so possibilities bring up the rear.”