GILBERT, S.C. -- Mitt Romney soaked President Barack Obama in a blanket of failure Friday as he rallied supporters in the rain on the eve of South Carolina's crucial Republican presidential primary.
Romney, speaking alongside S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley never mentioned the man who might keep him from a November appointment with Obama -- former Georgia congressman Newt Gingrich. Gingrich has surged in the polls in the Palmetto State this week and stands on the cusp of stealing this state's primary from Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts.
"Three years ago [Obama] was on the ‘Today' show and said if I can't get this economy turned around in three years I'm looking at a one-term proposition," Romney said to huge cheers from the crowd of more than 300 at Harmon's Tree Farm. "He is. We're taking it back. This is a president that failed."
Romney had been cruising in South Carolina up until this week when Gingrich's strong showing in a pair of debates helped turned the tide. Polls now show the two essentially tied.
Eloise and Donald Counts of nearby Prosperity were among those huddled under umbrellas hoping Romney finds a way to prevail Saturday.
"He has the best chance of beating Obama," Eloise Counts, 71, said. "We need a new president."
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