Perry indicts Obama administration before religious conservatives

WASHINGTON -- Rick Perry used his speech to religious conservatives Saturday to indict President Obama's policies, saying the nation is at "the end of an era of failed leadership."

The Obama administration has "sliced and diced" the electorate, and pitted groups of Americans against each other, Perry said on the last day of a conference sponsored by the Faith & Freedom Coalition and Concerned Women for America.

Citing turmoil and violence across the globe, Perry also attacked Obama by saying that "weakness at home has led to weakness abroad."

The former Texas governor leavened his remarks with references to Scripture, and said at one point that "our rights come from God, not from government." He stressed issues important to the crowd of social conservatives, citing anti-abortion legislation he signed as governor.

"No candidate has done more to protect unborn life," Perry said.

Nearly all the presidential candidates have streamed through the Road to Majority forum. Later on Saturday, delegates will hear from Scott Walker and Carly Fiorina.

Perry, whose 2012 presidential campaign ran aground, ranks low in many early Republican polls and could have trouble qualifying for upcoming debates.

In making his case to conservatives of faith, Perry pledged a new and better kind of leadership, including efforts to address the rising costs of health care, child care, child tuition, and student loan debt.

"We are a resilient country," he said. "We will make it through the Obama years."