Mr. Romney makes the case, in private meetings with business owners and in appearances like a dinner speech here Saturday, that the halting economic recovery ? even after solid job growth in February, the unemployment rate remains at 8.9 percent ? provides a compelling rationale that he is the strongest candidate to create jobs and take on President Obama.

?I like President Obama,? Mr. Romney said, ?but he doesn?t have a clue how jobs are created.?

The message is well suited to Mr. Romney?s background as a successful executive and former governor, as well as the man who rescued the 2002 Winter Games from financial trouble. But it may also allow him to steer around criticism over the health care plan he created in Massachusetts, which to many Republicans looks distressingly similar to the federal law signed last year by Mr. Obama.

And it offers him a chance to sidestep the concerns of social conservatives, some of whom question his commitment to their causes and are uncomfortable with his Mormon faith.

As he moves closer to formally opening his 2012 presidential campaign, Mr. Romney has taken a far different approach than he did the last time. To avoid the risk of overexposure and early scrutiny, he is operating in a cautious, low-key fashion, building allies among Republicans by doling out money to candidates from his political action committee and testing themes on donors and other supporters with limited news coverage.

Mr. Romney is trying to present a more relaxed image to combat impressions that he is unapproachable and stiff. He has not been seen in a necktie for months ? not in television appearances, meetings with donors or political dinners, including the one Saturday evening, where he was one of the few men in the room wearing an open-collared shirt.

He turned up in the pit area of the Daytona 500 last month, mingling with race car drivers while wearing a Bass Pro Shops shirt. And last week, Mr. Romney, who put his wealth four years ago around $200 million, walked into Tommy?s Barber Shop in an Atlanta strip mall for a haircut. (Aides sent out a picture of him in the barber?s chair via Twitter.)

In the early maneuvering for the 2012 race, Mr. Romney has aimed his fire at Mr. Obama rather than any of his prospective Republican rivals, attacking the president as a weak leader who pursued a European-style big-government agenda for his first two years in office instead of focusing on jobs.

?The president points out that he inherited an economic crisis,? Mr. Romney told about 300 people at the Attitash Grand Summit Hotel. ?He did, and he promptly made it worse.?

?The consequence is soaring numbers of Americans enduring unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcies,? he continued. ?This is the Obama Misery Index, and it is at a record high.?

So far Mr. Romney has offered few specific details beyond general Republican philosophies, saying only that the country needs ?to believe in free enterprise, capitalism, limited government, federalism.?

He selected this town nestled in the White Mountains about 125 miles north of Manchester to offer one of the first extensive previews of his campaign themes. He shook hands with nearly everyone at the Carroll County Republican dinner in his first public visit to the state that holds the opening primary of the 2012 nominating season, a contest critical to his success.

?I spent my career in the private sector. I know how jobs are created and how jobs are lost,? he said. ?I have helped guide more than one enterprise that was in crisis. And I learned that there are three rules of every successful turnaround: focus, focus, focus.?

In his 2008 race, Mr. Romney shed moderate stances on abortion and gay rights to align with a conservative electorate, prompting questions about whether his positions were driven by politics or conviction. This time, a concentration on jobs and the economy signals a return to themes he struck during his successful bid for governor in 2002. Yet his record as governor also provides one of his biggest obstacles.

More even than his faith and his social-conservative credentials, questions about the health insurance plan he signed into law in Massachusetts have left him open to criticism from his party.

The White House has joined in, showering unhelpful praise on the plan, which, like the federal law, includes a mandate for residents to carry insurance.