Romney takes step toward 2012 run

FORMER Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the closest to a front-runner in a wide-open Republican field, has taken a major step toward a second White House candidacy by formally announcing a campaign exploratory committee.

Romney declared that “with able leadership, America’s best days are still ahead”, vigorously asserting that US President Barack Obama had failed to provide it.

The Republican, who has been plotting a comeback since losing the presidential nomination to John McCain three years ago, offered himself as the person best able to lead a country struggling to recover from economic crisis.