U.S. must be more assertive on world stage: Romney

LEXINGTON, VA. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney assailed Barack Obama’s foreign policy in a speech Monday, saying the risk of conflict in the Middle East has grown under the president’s leadership.

With his speech at the Virginia Military Institute, Romney hopes to undo a string of foreign policy stumbles, taking aim at an issue where polls show U.S. President Barack Obama holds a clear lead.

Saying there is “a longing for American leadership in the Middle East,” Romney called for the U.S. to take a more assertive role in Syria. He also wants new conditions on aid to Egypt and would impose tighter sanctions on Iran.

With the race growing tighter after Obama’s poor performance in last week’s presidential debate — the first of three — Democrats and Republicans now are looking to Thursday’s debate confrontation between VicePresident Joe Biden and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan.

Both tickets are bearing down on their attempts to draw in the small percentage of voters who remain undecided in fewer than 10 states, with Iowa, Ohio, Virginia and Florida all set for candidate visits this week.

The U.S. president is not elected by the nationwide popular vote, but in a series of state-by-state contests.