Nice of Mitt to join the party. Reuters:

Mitt Romney, the multimillionaire former governor of Massachusetts, kicked off his second bid for the White House on Thursday, charging that "Barack Obama has failed America" by spending too much and not protecting jobs.

With unemployment high and the housing market still soft, the economy is President Barack Obama's main weakness, although polls say he is still favored over all potential Republican opponents.

The Republican front-runner so far, Romney blamed Obama for the job losses and home foreclosures that have plagued Americans during the president's first term.

"From my first day in office my number one job will be to see that America once again is number one in job creation," Romney said, flanked by hay bales at a New Hampshire farm.

Job figures due out on Friday are likely to show little improvement in an unemployment rate that has hovered around 9 percent for months.

There is no doubt Romney would be a strong general election candidate, but can he win the GOP nomination?

Of the frontrunners, Romney has the clearest path. He is a known commodity (which is one of his problems with certain groups), and a very articulate spokesperson. He is weak on the values thing but strong on issues. And he will have plenty of money.

But then there's Romneycare. Why he doesn't just come out and apologize and admit he made a mistake, I don't know. He can't possibly believe it''s a plus for him. Perhaps he's waiting for the right moment.

It may very well be that by November, 2012, the American people will prefer a technocrat, a problem solver, a guy with a proven track record like Romney instead of more promises of hope and change.

At least, that's what Romney is betting on.