Mr Romney also said that it was a "mistake" for congressional Republicans to go along with the White House on a budget deal that set up automatic spending cuts that include huge reductions in defence spending in the new year.

His running mate, Representative Paul Ryan, helped steer that agreement through Congress.

On NBC's Meet the Press programme, Mr Romney said he wanted to replace the Obama health Medicare plan with one of his own that included some of the most popular provisions of the incumbent's two-year-old law.

"I'm not getting rid of all of health care reform. Of course, there are a number of things that I like in health care reform that I'm going to put in place," Mr Romney said in the interview taped on Friday and Saturday.

He cited guaranteed coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions, coverage for young people up to age 26 on their parents' plans and new insurance marketplaces.