Post date: Sep 25, 2012 3:39:32 PM
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 25, 2012) (CGI) - Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney tried to take advantage of a focus on the United Nations on Tuesday (September 25) to outline how he would promote development in countries that need it as he tries to get his campaign back on track.
U.S. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he is "troubled by developments in the Middle East" as he details his foreign aid plan at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York.
Romney spoke at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York. The former Massachusetts governor, who has been sliding in polls in battleground states where the election will be decided, is attempting to return his campaign to solid ground with six weeks left of campaigning.
In New York, Romney addressed a foundation begun by the popular former president Bill Clinton, whose speech at the Democratic National Convention this month helped Obama regain some momentum and gave him a bounce in support.
"If there is one thing that we've learned in this election season, by the way, is that a few words from Bill Clinton can do a man a lot of good," Romney joked at the start of his speech.
Romney told the audience he is "troubled by developments in the Middle East".
"Syria has witnessed the killing of tens of thousands of people, the president of Egypt is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, our ambassador to Libya was assassinated in a terrorist attack, Iran is moving toward nuclear weapons capability. We somehow feel that we are at the mercy of events, rather than shaping events," he said.
During his speech, Romney proposed that the United States put a greater focus on using U.S. foreign assistance to encourage free enterprise as a way of creating jobs in the developing world.
"The aim of a much larger share of our aid must be the promotion of work and the fostering of free enterprise," he said.
"I noticed that the most successful countries shared something in common. They were the freest. They protected the rights of individuals. They enforced the rule of law. They encouraged trade and enterprise.
They understood that economic freedom is the only force in history that is consistently lifted people out of poverty and kept people out of poverty. A temporary aid package can give an economy a boost. It can fund projects. It can pay some bills. It can employ some people for a time, but it can't sustain an economy, not for the long term. It can't pull the whole cart if you will because at some point the money runs out. But an assistance program that helps unleash free enterprise can create enduring prosperity. Free enterprise is based on mutual exchange or rather millions of exchanges. Millions of people buying, trading, selling, building, investing, yeah it has its ups and downs. It isn't perfect. It's more reliable and more durable and ultimately as history has shown, it's more successful," Romney argued.
The U.S. Presidential candidate ended his speech with an apparent knock to Iran's leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who spoke at the United Nations and to a group of journalists on Monday.
Ahmadinejad said Israel has no roots in the Middle East and would be "eliminated."
Romney said, "Today we face a world with unprecedented challenges and complexities. We should not forget and cannot forget that not far from here a voice on unspeakable evil and hatred has spoken out, threatening Israel and the entire civilized world, but we come together knowing that the bitterness of hate is no match for the strength of love."
After Romney's visit to New York, he will go on a two-day bus tour of Ohio, widely considered to be a state he must win.