Candidate touts his record of creating jobs in Lone Star state

CHARLESTON, South Carolina - Republican Rick Perry, the conservative governor of Texas, declared himself on Saturday a candidate for US president and made a blistering attack on Democratic President Barack Obama.

"I realize that the United States of America really is the last great hope of mankind," Perry said, as he accused Obama of imperiling America's standing in the world with "disastrous economic policies" and the "incoherent muddle that they call foreign policy".

Delivering a speech to about 200 voters at a backyard cocktail party in the key primary state of New Hampshire, Perry, 61, touted his job creation record in Texas and promised to reduce taxes, business regulations and the overall role of government in people's lives. He said leaders in Washington have lacked courage and Obama's "tax and spend and borrow agenda" had led to the downgrading of the US credit rating.

Perry flew to New Hampshire after talking to 700 conservative activists in South Carolina, another state that hosts one of the first primary contests in 2012.

"Mr President, let us tell you something. You cannot win the future by selling America off to foreign creditors. We cannot afford four more years of this rudderless leadership," Perry said.

Perry's entry shakes up the race for the Republican nomination to face Obama in the November 2012 general election. Opinion polls indicate Perry is already close on the heels of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the early Republican front-runner.

Meanwhile, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, once viewed as a strong Republican contender for the presidency, abandoned his White House bid on Sunday after a weak showing in a "straw poll" - an official gauge of a candidate's support - in Iowa.

Perry, who caused a stir in 2009 when he openly pondered his state's secession from the United States, was sharply critical of what he called an overbearing federal government.

"As Americans, we realize that there is no taxpayer money that wasn't first earned by the sweat and toil of one of our citizens," said Perry, drawing a loud round of cheers and applause from the hundreds of people who packed into a Charleston hotel to hear him speak.

"Spreading the wealth punishes success while setting America on course for greater dependency on government," he said.

Perry's candidacy could steal support from fellow conservative Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann, replacing her as Romney's top rival and potentially bridging the gap between the party's establishment center and right-wing activists.

The three-term Texas governor is an opponent of abortion rights and gay marriage. He is seen as a strong fundraiser.

Perry seized on the fact that the US credit rating was downgraded this month by a leading rating agency following the contentious deal to raise the US debt ceiling this month.

"The fact is for nearly three years President Obama has been downgrading American jobs, he's been downgrading our standing in the world, he's been downgrading our financial stability, he's been downgrading our confidence and downgrading the hope for a better future for our children," Perry said.

Perry said his state has "the strongest economy in the nation" and that since June 2009, Texas - home to less than 10 percent of the US population - has been responsible for more than 40 percent of all of the new jobs created in America.

Reuters