By Richard McGregor in Washington
Mitt Romney said he would allow banks to go into bankruptcy in the event of another financial crisis as president, rather than to keep them afloat with a government bail-out.
Speaking at a debate of Republican candidates at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina ahead of the state?s Saturday primary, Mr Romney said the country had learnt ?some lessons? from the recent financial crisis.
?What you don?t want to do is to give the president or anyone else a blank cheque or a slush fund to take care of their friends or of industries or companies they think they want to save,? he said.
?We have to recognise that bankruptcy can be a process [of] reorganisation for banks as well as other institutions, that allow them to get rid of their excess costs, to re-establish a sound foundation and to emerge stronger.?
Mr Romney?s answer, in response to a question about the financial crisis gripping the eurozone, underlined the deep antipathy among the grassroots of the Republican party to George W. Bush?s bail-out of the banks in 2007 and 2008.
?The right course for us is not to think we have to go run over to Europe to try and save their banking system, or to try and pump money into the banks here in this country.?
?This is [the] time for us to recognise that the system of laws we have, and the free enterprise system, works.?
As the frontrunner, Mr Romney came under fire in a lively two-hour debate over the attack ads run by third-party groups, so-called super PACs, from two of the group?s targets, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich.
The onslaught of spending by the super PACs on attacks ads has been one of the most controversial parts of the campaign, and Mr Romney said he would like to see them abolished.
He also came under pressure to release his personal tax returns, as the other candidates have, something that appeared to make him uncomfortable.
Mr Romney replied that he would ?probably? release them in April, as that was the time that other presidential aspirants had put them out.
?I hadn?t planned on releasing tax records, because the law requires us to release all of our assets, that I?ve already released; it?s a pretty full disclosure. But if that?s been the tradition [on tax], then I?m not opposed to doing that.?
Mr Gingrich, Mr Romney?s closest rival, had a strong debate and won lengthy ovations from the conservative audience for his answers about the importance of work over welfare, and his defence of killing terrorists who attack America.
?[Former president] Andrew Jackson had a pretty clear-cut idea about America?s enemies: Kill them,? he said.
Mr Romney echoed Mr Gingrich?s comments in outlining his opposition to negotiating with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
?Of course you take out our enemies, wherever they are. These people have declared war on us. They?ve killed Americans. We go anywhere they are and we kill them,? he said.
Asked what they favoured as the top income tax rate, Mr Romney nominated 25 per cent, Mr Perry, the Texas governor, a flat tax of 20 per cent, Mr Gingrich 15 per cent and Mr Santorum 28 per cent.
Answering last, Ron Paul, the libertarian Texas congressman, upstaged them all, saying the rate of federal income tax should be ?zero?.
? The Financial Times Limited 2012