Romney formally announces US presidential candidacy

Mitt Romney officially entered the 2008 US presidential race today, a former Republican governor of the state of Massachusetts suggesting that his record of leadership inside and outside government uniquely positions him to tackle challenges facing the United States.

“I declare my intention to run for president of the United States,” Romney said in remarks prepared for delivery as he formally opened a candidacy that, if fruitful, would make him the first Mormon president, a church founded in the United States in 1830.

In elective office only four years, Romney is not nearly as well known nationally as his two main rivals for the Republican nomination, Sen. John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, political celebrities who consistently lead popularity polls.

However, Romney, a serious contender even though he is little more than a blip in such surveys, is seeking to convince Republican primary voters that his record of success in the private, public and voluntary sectors proves he has the know-how to lead a country at a crossroads.

“We have lost faith in government, not in just one party, not in just one house, but in government,” Romney said. “It is time for innovation and transformation in Washington. It is what our country needs. It is what our people deserve.”

And, Romney said, he is the candidate who has proven he can deliver.

“I do not believe Washington can be transformed from within by a lifelong politician,” Romney said, seeking to turn a potential liability, his limited political experience, into an asset. “There have been too many deals, too many favours, too many entanglements – and too little real world experience managing, guiding, leading.”

As a businessman, Romney helped found a multi-billion-dollar venture capital firm that amassed a fortune funding companies like Staples, the office-supply giant. He left the private sector in 2002 to turn a scandal-plagued Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City into a success.