Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has officially declared himself a Republican presidential candidate.
The Harvard-educated businessman has five children, fourteen grandchildren and a personal fortune of US$250 million. He is a Mormon.
However, despite his relative youth (he's 64) and charisma, his support base has never crept above 25 per cent.
Some analysts attribute this to his attempts to please too broad a spectrum of voters, which causes him to 'flip-flop' on major issues.
On taxes, Romney says he plans to:
- Scrap taxes on interest, dividends, and capital gains for those earning less than $200,000
- Eliminate the death tax
- Reduce corporate income tax to 25 percent
-Transition from 'worldwide' to 'territorial' corporate tax system
He also plans to repeal the universal health care program that President Barack Obama fought hard to implement.
A statement on Romney's website says:
"[He] will rebuild the foundations of the American economy on the principles of free enterprise, hard work, and innovation.
"His plan seeks to reduce taxes, spending, regulation, and government programs. It seeks to increase trade, energy production, human capital, and labor flexibility.
"It relinquishes power to the states instead of claiming to have the solution to every problem."
There is controversy over his stance on abortion,with allegations he used polling in order to determine it.
The Democrats have slammed his most recent swing to an anti-abortion stance.
On his blog, Romney describes himself as 'pro-life', saying abortion should be 'limited to instances of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother'. He says he would repeal the crucial Roe v Wade ruling which legalised aboriton in the US in 1973.
Here is one of Romney's campaign videos:
