VIDEO: Jon Huntsman Says He's Ready to Lead America

Jon Huntsman told Portsmouth Republicans Friday night that he will win the New Hampshire Presidential Primary by knocking on doors, going to VFW halls and using some "good old fashioned shoe leather."

Every step of the way, the former Utah Governor and ambassador to China knows he will have to convince New Hampshire voters that he is the best Republican candidate to lead the country out of the recession. On Friday, he attempted to do just that at the Roundabout Diner on the Route 1 Bypass at a Portsmouth Republican Committee forum.

Huntsman said President Barack Obama "has failed to create jobs, the number one issue in this economy."

If elected President, Huntsman said he would pursue a strategy of tax reform aimed at reducing corporate income taxes, regulatory reform, and energy indepedence to return to the "Shining City on the Hill" that President Ronald Reagan used to describe his vision for America.

"I can't think of three more important steps to get the country moving again," Huntsman said.

Huntsman said there are some good ideas in Washington to help the nation improve the economy.

"What we don't have is leadership and we don't have a plan," he said.

Huntsman said he has encountered many voters on the campaign trail who feel they have seen the end of the American Dream and the end of the American century. But Huntsman said America is simply too good to fail and has too many positive attributes in its corner to remain in what he described as a "funk" forever.

"We're sick and tired of being in the soup economically and we want to emerge and be the economy we know we can be," Huntsman said.

Following his remarks, some Portsmouth are voters pressed Huntsman on issues like the declining value of the U.S. dollar and health care reform.

John Batchelder of Portsmouth asked Huntsman how he feels about the dollar's decline and Huntsman replied, "The dollar will remain the centerpiece of our country and the rest of the world as well."

He also said the U.S. will "get back on its feel because it has no choice."

Tom Clairmont of Portsmouth asked Huntsman that if the National Healthcare Reform, which Republican Presidential candidates refer to as "Obamacare," is repealed, "what's your plan?"

Huntsman said he would support policies that would empower patients so doctors would be required to educate them about the cost of various treatments instead of just going with the most expensive treatments and technology. He said he would also push to "harmonize" medical records by making them all electronic to keep costs down.

Overall, Huntsman said the American consumer is much better served by a medical care system that is driven by the free market as opposed to the federal government. He said each state should have the freedom to develop their own solutions.

"Let's let the states experiment. Let's let the states experiment with approaches that work," Huntsman said.