Romney eyes decisive 'boost' as Iowa vote looms

Mitt Romney urged Iowa voters to give him what could be a decisive "boost" over his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination in the heartland state's caucus, just two days away. Romney -- who portrays himself as the strongest candidate to beat President Barack Obama in November elections -- has retaken a thin lead in Iowa before the state casts the first ballots of the Republican nominating process on Tuesday. "I can't tell you who's going to win this thing," the former Massachusetts governor and millionaire venture capitalist said after chatting and shaking hands with scores of people in a packed diner. "But I do believe that I'm going to have a great deal of support and that that will give me the kind of boost I need as I go into a season of (contests in) a number of other states," he said. "This is a process that begins here." Romney has made little secret that he hopes a strong showing here -- coupled with a victory in New Hampshire a week later -- could help him lock up the nomination early in the state-by-state process of picking a standard-bearer. But with four in 10 Iowans telling pollsters they could still change their minds, veteran Texas Representative Ron Paul stood within striking distance of Romney. "I may come in first, I may come in second. I doubt I'll come in third or fourth," Paul, known for anti-interventionist and libertarian views that have drawn heavy fire from his rivals for the party's nomination, told CNN. And firebrand social conservative Rick Santorum's support was surging as Iowa's evangelical Christians, a critical Republican bloc, seemed to be rallying behind the former senator from the battleground state of Pennsylvania. "Our support is rising here. But there's two more days and there's a lot of work to be done," he said at a rally in Sioux City. The Des Moines Register newspaper's final poll before the caucus found Romney with 24 percent support, Paul at 22 percent, Santorum at 15 but rising, and 41 percent of likely voters saying they could still change their minds. The survey found 12 percent support for former House speaker Newt Gingrich, 11 percent for Texas Governor Rick Perry, and seven percent for Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann. "Tuesday night people are going to see a miracle," said Bachmann, whose long-shot hopes rest heavily on Iowa. "People make their decision, quite honestly, in the caucus room." "We are going to do good on Tuesday," Perry said on Fox News Channel, deriding his rivals as "either Washington insiders or Wall Street insiders." And Gingrich -- whose support has plummeted in the face of a barrage of attack ads, many by a group backing Romney -- took aim at the frontrunner, charging "he would buy an election if he could." Romney scoffed, saying here the election "is not being driven by money raised, it's being driven by message, connection with the voters, debates, experience." After Iran defiantly declared it had tested a new medium-range missile and made a significant advance in its nuclear program, Santorum told NBC television he would pummel Tehran's nuclear sites with air strikes unless they are opened wide to international inspectors. And Romney said that the Iranian moves, sure to stoke flaring tensions between Tehran and Washington, showed Obama "has failed us in dealing with the greatest threat we face, which comes from Iran." Iowans gather Tuesday in hundreds of precincts across the state, meeting in school cafeterias, church buildings and other spots to vote after hearing speeches from their neighbors on behalf of the candidates. Unpredictable Iowa -- where unemployment is well below the national average -- is also an unreliable predictor of presidential fortunes: Senator John McCain, the eventual nominee in 2008, came in fourth that year. But a victory here can lift a sagging campaign or give a top contender an extra air of inevitability, bringing fundraising dollars, endorsements and voter support that can shape the rest of the state-by-state nominating battle. Romney's massive campaign war chest and high-profile endorsements have fed his image as the candidate to beat -- but he faces stubborn doubts about his conservative credentials and has been unable to increase his support among Republican voters nationwide above 30 percent. Obama's push for a second term has been weighed down by the sour US economy and historically high unemployment, the top issue on Americans' minds nearly four years after he promised his victory would bring "hope and change." Iowan Jodi Terry, 46, lost her job as a pharmacy technician in 2010 and has at times had to sleep in her car -- struggles she briefly related to Romney as she gave him a tearful hug here. "He told me 'I'll do my best, and I'm praying for you and your family,'" she told AFP.