<i>Romney takes winning streak to S Carolina </i>

Mitt Romney heads to the US South yesterday as the clear Republican frontrunner to take on President Barack Obama after a commanding win in the second presidential nominating contest in New Hampshire.
The former Massachusetts governor and millionaire venture capitalist immediately looked to South Carolina's January 21 primary, hoping a victory there and in Florida on January 31 could effectively anoint him the nominee.
Obama "has run out of ideas. Now, he's running out of excuses. And tonight, we are asking the good people of South Carolina to join the citizens of New Hampshire and make 2012 the year he runs out of time," he said late Tuesday after winning the New Hampshire primary.
Public opinion polls showed Romney leading his more conservative rivals in both of the next battle-grounds -- large states where his well-oiled, well-funded campaign machine could roll up the opposition.
With more than 95 percent of votes counted, Romney was set to win New Hampshire with about 39 percent, the first time since 1976 that a Republican non-incumbent wins this contest and the Iowa caucuses that precede it.
After surviving a furious 11th-hour onslaught from his Republican rivals, who tarred him as a callous corporate raider who put people out of work, Romney defiantly trumpeted his business experience as his number-one asset.
Veteran Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, a small-government champion whose opposition to overseas military interventions has rankled the party's establishment, was expected to come in second with around 23 percent.
Former US envoy to China Jon Huntsman, who bet his political fortunes on a strong showing here, was on track to come in third with around 17 percent after a late surge tied to a strong weekend debate performance.
Former US House speaker Newt Gingrich was in fourth place at 10 percent, with Christian conservative former senator Rick Santorum close behind at nine percent.
Texas Governor Rick Perry, who skipped New Hampshire to go directly to South Carolina, clung to one percent.
In South Carolina, Romney may face stiff resistance from more hardline conservatives who think he is a flip-flopper and from evangelical Christians wary of his Mormon faith, but he also has the backing of Governor Nikki Haley.