|
 Romney seemed to be in campaign mode in a closely watched
appearance in Starkville, Mississippi, delivering a speech at
Mississippi State University and stopping at a local barbecue
restaurant, where he ate a pulled-pork sandwich.
In his speech, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee looked past
potential Republican rivals for 2016 and raised questions about
President Barack Obama's struggle to contain Islamic militants in
Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.
He criticized Obama over his refusal to refer to the militancy
movement as "radical Islam."
"I don't know how the president expects to defeat the jihadists if
he won't even call them what they are," Romney said.
Romney targeted Clinton in his remarks, accusing her of making
mistakes as Obama's first-term secretary of state and of being out
of touch with how jobs are created.
 The wife of former President Bill Clinton and former senator from
New York is the overwhelming favorite to be the Democratic
presidential nominee in 2016 should she decide to run.
She "cluelessly pressed a reset button" in U.S. relations with
Russia, which did not work, Romney said, because Moscow proceeded to
invade Ukraine.
And he assailed her declaration to an audience last October not to
let anyone tell them that "it's corporations and businesses that
create jobs." Clinton disavowed the remark soon after.
"How can Secretary Clinton provide opportunity for all if she
doesn't know where jobs come from in the first place?" Romney said.
[to top of second column] |
Applause erupted in the speaking hall when Romney said he was
considering another presidential run. Having endured relentless
Democratic attacks over his wealth in 2012, he made a joke about it
in his speech, saying he did not need to make paid speeches because
"as you've no doubt heard, I'm already rich."
Romney is to decide in a matter of weeks whether to seek the
presidency again. If he does, advisers say, he will run a different
kind of campaign than last time, including more of a focus on the
plight of people living in poverty.
Romney would face a formidable contender in former Florida Governor
Jeb Bush, who is also exploring whether to run for the Republican
presidential nomination in 2016.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Christian Plumb and Andrew
Hay)
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