SALEM, N.H. ? Reaching for a big New Hampshire boost, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney ran down President Barack Obama's economic policies on Thursday as his GOP rivals leveled a one-two-three punch at any notion of inevitability for the former Massachusetts governor.
At a senior center in Plymouth, Newt Gingrich told reporters that Romney wouldn't "come anywhere near enough voters per state to become the nominee."
At a former train station in Tilton, Rick Santorum told voters: "Don't settle for less than America needs."
At a printing press company in Durham, Jon Huntsman told employees: "We can't afford to have a coronation for president. We can't afford to have the establishment stand up and say, `Here's your guy: Mr. Romney, from Massachusetts.'"
Romney, who eked out the slimmest of victories in Iowa's kickoff caucuses and who leads polls in New Hampshire, is reaching for a decisive victory here next Tuesday to solidify his standing. At a morning stop in Salem before heading to South Carolina, Romney looked past his GOP rivals and labeled Obama a "crony capitalist," invoking a theme that Rep. Michele Bachmann had used before dropping out of the race.
Keeping his focus on the president, Romney aired a new TV ad in South Carolina that criticizes Obama for adopting "un-American" economic policies that hurt workers in the state and faults him for packing a government labor panel with "union stooges."
Romney was to appear later Thursday in South Carolina with the state's governor, Nikki Haley, and Arizona Sen. John McCain, the former GOP presidential nominee who endorsed Romney Wednesday. McCain, who remains popular in New Hampshire, where he won in 2000 and 2008, said Thursday it's time for the party to unite behind Romney and "get into the main event" of defeating Obama. He spoke on CBS' "The Early Show."
Romney's Republican rivals had no intention of heeding McCain's calls for a quick end to the GOP nomination fight.
Gingrich, the former House speaker, rolled out his first TV ad aimed at Romney. In it, Gingrich labels his rival's economic plan "virtually identical to Obama's failed policy" and says "timid won't create jobs, and timid certainly won't defeat Barack Obama."
Gingrich also gave a dismissive assessment of Santorum when asked to size up the former Pennsylvania senator, saying that "in historical terms, he would be a junior partner." Gingrich questioned whether Santorum has a "track record" for running a large-scale national campaign, as Gingrich did when he engineered the Republican takeover of the House in 1994.
The Iowa caucuses did little to clarify what has long been a fractured GOP field, with Romney and Santorum battling almost to a tie in that state and libertarian Texas Rep. Ron Paul placing third. The result demonstrated anew the difficulty Republicans have had in choosing between Romney, a former business executive who governed as a moderate, or a more dynamic, conservative alternative.
Santorum is itching to fill that role. The former Pennsylvania senator lost by just eight votes to Romney in Iowa, a strong showing due to a socially conservative message and dedicated politicking across the state's 99 counties. His challenge now is to raise money and build a strong enough organization to cement his status as a durable challenger to Romney.
Santorum, offered himself as "the conservative alternative" to Romney and claimed he's got the momentum to propel his campaign beyond New Hampshire after a surprisingly strong showing in Iowa's leadoff caucuses. "Our office is buzzing," Santorum said after an appearance in Manchester. "We're the folks that people are getting excited about." He dismissed Obama as "a president who doesn't understand us."
Taking note of the ever-changing list of front-runners for the GOP nomination, Santorum told voters: "Don't defer your judgment to the pundits. They're on their seventh `this race is down to two people' scenario."
Santorum, of course, wants to be half of the last such duo.
His aides reported raising $1 million Wednesday alone, largely through a surge in online donations that crippled the campaign's website shortly after the Iowa results were announced. Campaign manager Mike Biundo has said the campaign's fundraising pace tripled over the last week.
Paul is taking some time off at home in Lake Jackson, Texas, where he has been resting, riding his bike, and preparing for two weekend debates. He will return to New Hampshire on Friday and stay through Tuesday's primary. As recently as this week, Paul said he could not see himself becoming president.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry also went home after saying he would reassess his candidacy following a weak fifth-place finish in Iowa, but he later announced he would carry on. He planned to test his sputtering candidacy in South Carolina, which holds its primary Jan. 21. Perry also was expected in New Hampshire for the debates.
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Fouhy reported from New York. Associated Press writers Shannon McCaffrey, Kasie Hunt, Steve Peoples and Holly Ramer in New Hampshire and Chris Tomlinson in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.
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