COLUMBIA, S.C. - Mitt Romney took his anti-President Obama message down south today, making his first appearance in the Palmetto State since his back-to-back wins in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Catering his stump speech to the people of South Carolina, Romney told the crowd at the banquet hall, "We have a lot of people in South Carolina hurting tonight."

"They're people who a few years ago were thinking about where they were going to send their kid to college," Romney said. "Now they're wondering if they can put a meal on the table at the end of the week."

Criticizing President Obama for his handling of relations with Iran, Romney said the president "was silent."

"He was silent," said Romney. "Can you imagine Ronald Reagan being silent? Even Bill Clinton would have had something to say."

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who just last weekend make the trek to New Hampshire to stump with Romney, had the strongest prose of all, making reference to recent attacks lobbed on Romney by his GOP counterparts.

"I am proud of all of our Republican candidates," said Haley. "But we have a real problem when we have Republicans talking like dang Democrats against the free market. We believe in free markets."

Romney is back on the trial tomorrow morning with an early morning rally in Greer, S.C., before heading to Florida, a state that will hold its own primary later this month.