Romney would be calamitous for the world: Bill Clinton

 Former US President Bill Clinton has warned Americans that picking up Mitt Romney would be "calamitous" for the country and the world as he derided the Republicans' policies and strongly endorsed Barack Obama for a re-election this year.

Clinton, who occupied the White House from 1993 to 2001, said that the incumbent president has the right economic policies and political approach.

"I think that he (Obama) has got the right economic policies and the right political approach, and I think their (Republican) economics are wrongheaded and their politics are worse," Clinton said at campaign event here as he lashed out at the policies of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Romney.

Clinton said Europe current economic woes were one of the main reasons why things have slowed up, but that is something which is beyond US control.

"The other is that the Republican Congress and their nominee for President, Governor Romney, have adopted Europe's economic policy.

"Who would have ever thought that the Republicans who made a living for decades deriding 'old Europe' would embrace their economic policy? But that's what they've done," said the former US President.

Describing the politics of the Republicans as "wrong" and their economics as "crazy", Clinton said Romney would be "calamitous" for the United States and the world.

"Their economic policy is austerity and unemployment now, and then a long-term budget that will explode the debt when the economy recovers so that interest rates will be so high nobody will be able to do anything," he said.

On the other hand, he said, Obama was pursuing a policy for job growth now, and a long-term budget restraint.

"If you look at the budgets, their budgets, every one of them, all the congressional budgets and Governor Romney's add USD 1 or USD 2 trillion to the trajectory of the debt that we're on right now. His (Obama's) budget takes it down.

"And if you look at their politics, it's constant conflict," he said.Clinton said Obama deserves to be re-elected on the merit of his policies and a "good record" and the fact that he has made the best out of a very challenging situation.

"And I know I don't have to say that I think he's done an extraordinary job with the national security responsibilities of the country, both making it safer and building a world with more partners.

"He has a pretty good Secretary of State, too," Clinton said, tongue-in-cheek, referring to his wife Hillary.