Romney takes on Obama,puts 2012 focus on jobs

As Mitt Romney travels the country lining up contributors and influential Republicans for a second presidential bid.

As Mitt Romney travels the country lining up contributors and influential Republicans for a second presidential bid,he is presenting himself as a ready-to-lead executive,gambling that a fluency in economic matters distinguishes him from other candidates.

Romney makes the case,in private meetings with business owners and in appearances like a dinner speech here Saturday,that the halting economic recovery even after solid job growth in February,the unemployment rate remains at 8.9 per cent provides a compelling rationale that he is the strongest candidate to create jobs and take on President Barack Obama.

I like President Obama, Romney said,but he doesnt have a clue how jobs are created. The message is well suited to Romneys background as a successful executive and former governor,as well as the man who rescued the 2002 Winter Games from financial trouble.

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Romney is trying to present a more relaxed image to combat impressions that he is unapproachable. He has not been seen in a necktie for month. He turned up in the pit area of the Daytona 500 last month,mingling with race car drivers. And last week,Romney,who put his wealth four years ago around $200 million,walked into Tommys Barber Shop in an Atlanta strip mall for a haircut.

In the early manoeuvring for the 2012 race,Romney has aimed his fire at Obama rather than any of his prospective Republican rivals,attacking the President as a weak leader who pursued a European-style big-government agenda for his first two years in office instead of focusing on jobs.

JEFF ZELENY