The small crowd of mostly elderly, white Republicans applauds and laughs at Mitt Romney's talk. Whether he is condemning birth out of wedlock, illegal immigration or the "bickering, partisan ways of Washington", the former governor of Massachusetts has struck a chord.

At only one point in his interaction with the Republicans of Hampton, Iowa, does Mr Romney mention George W. Bush - and even then with a double-edged compliment about toppling Saddam Hussein in spite of the ensuing "bad mismanagement" of the situation in Iraq.