Texas Governor Perry joins White House race

Candidate touts his record of creating jobs in Lone Star state

CHARLESTON, South Carolina - Republican Rick Perry, the conservative governor of Texas, declared himself on Saturday a candidate for US president and made a blistering attack on Democratic President Barack Obama.

"I realize that the United States of America really is the last great hope of mankind," Perry said, as he accused Obama of imperiling America's standing in the world with "disastrous economic policies" and the "incoherent muddle that they call foreign policy".