US Election 2012: Mitt Romney vows resilience following South Carolina defeat

“Those who pick up the weapons of the Left today will find them turned against
us tomorrow,” he warned.

“Let me be clear: If Republican
leaders want to join this president in demonizing success and disparaging
conservative values then they’re not going to be fit to be our nominee.”

In a relentlessly-focused, 10-minute speech delivered with teleprompters, Mr
Romney said he would present himself as a businessman first and a politician
second, as a way of distinguishing from both Mr Gingrich and the President.

“Our campaign will be about the businesses I’ve helped to start, not the bills
I tried to pass,” he said.

In the 10 days before the Florida primary, Mr Romney’s aides said they would
ramp up the attacks on the former Speaker’s character, reminding voters that
he resigned from Congress in disgrace after an ethics investigation into his
conduct.

Mr Romney will have the chance to level that charge on Monday, when the four
remaining presidential hopefuls gather for a debate in Tampa Bay.

Despite the overwhelming scale of defeat in South Carolina – Mr Gingrich won
among both men and women, as well as independents and those who said
defeating Mr Obama was their top priority – the Romney camp has reasons to
be hopeful in Florida.

The latest polls put him around eight points ahead of Mr Gingrich and he is
likely to benefit from a more moderate Republican electorate as well as a
major lead in fundraising.

Earlier in the evening, CNN reported that Jeb Bush, the brother of George W
Bush and former Florida governor, would endorse Mr Romney on Sunday, a major
coup as the campaign prepares for 10-day push in the Sunshine State.

But within minutes, Mr Bush’s aides had taken to the airwaves to deny the
report, leaving both journalists and campaign aides looking embarrassed.

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