US election 2012: Bill Clinton to hail Barack Obama as saviour of America's middle class

Bill Clinton will tell struggling Americans nostalgic for his presidency that Barack Obama is still the man to rebuild the middle class, while Mitt Romney would hand ruinous tax cuts to the rich.

In a speech, the former president will warn voters that Mr Romney would repeat the economic policies that "got us in trouble in the first place".

"President Obama has a plan to rebuild America from the ground up," he said in a campaign video billed by Obama aides as a preview of his remarks. "It only works if there is a strong middle class. That's what happened when I was president. We need to keep going with his plan."

Mr Clinton is expected to contrast Mr Obama's priorities of education and training with Mr Romney's pledge to cut income taxes and reverse the regulation of the financial sector since the 2008 crisis.

The prominence given to his speech, which is to be delivered in the slot typically reserved for the vice-president, sharply highlights the weakness of Mr Obama's position as he fights to keep his job.

Mr Obama has worked to repair the damage to their relationship caused by his defeat of the former president's wife, Hillary, in 2008's bitter party primary, by seeking his counsel over rounds of golf.

04/09/12