Republicans pound Barack Obama

Republican presidential candidates led by frontrunner Mitt Romney used their first big televised debate to lash out at President Barack Obama -- but not each other.
The debate in Manchester, New Hampshire, late Monday did little to define differences between the seven candidates in the unwieldy Republican line-up as White House hopefuls reserved their venom for Obama on the economy and foreign policy.
The civil exchanges left Romney, who has a slight, but consistent lead in the polls, still looking like the man to beat for the nomination.
Standing behind the centre podium in CNN's ultra modern studio, the carefully combed Romney looked suitably presidential as he led the charge against Obama.
"Any one of the people on this stage would be a better president than President Obama," Romney said.
"Why isn't the president leading? He isn't balancing our budget and he isn't leading on jobs. He's failed the American people... And that's why he's not going to be reelected."
Michele Bachmann, a congresswoman and leading light of the staunchly conservative Tea Party movement, momentarily upstaged the other six when she used her opening comments to announce that she had just formally registered her candidacy.
Bachmann, the only woman on the stage, pulled her punches when opportunities came to attack Romney, but she almost shouted during assaults on Obama.
"President Obama has failed his leadership," she charged.
Newt Gingrich, a veteran Republican who was speaker of the House of Representatives in the 1990s, piled in to attack "the Obama depression."
The presidential election is not until November 2012. But candidates were using this event -- the first of many over the coming months -- to solidify their sometimes poor name recognition across the country and position themselves for a grueling campaign.

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