LONDONDERRY — Greeting a local Vietnam veteran as he made his way into the Coach Stop Restaurant Tuesday morning, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said the lyrics of a certain patriotic tune came to mind.

“For heroes are proven in times of liberating strife,” the former Massachusetts governor said, paraphrasing a line from “America The Beautiful.” “I believe the founders of this country saw beyond their time into more distant times: that certain things would endure.”

It was standing room only during Tuesday's "Breakfast With Mitt" event, with Romney, fresh off his three-day “Earn It” bus tour across the Granite State, earning loud applause from local supporters.

Accompanied by state Sen. Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry, and U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and members of the local Republican Party, Romney appeared confident in his status of top contender in next month's primary vote as he entered the antique tavern.

Both Carson and Ayotte voiced their support for Romney during Tuesday's Londonderry appearance.

“There's a lot of enthusiasm in this room,” Ayotte said. “We're at a turning point in this country and we need to change the direction we're headed in. ... (Romney) has the experience to turn this country around.”

“We've had four years of turmoil and false promises,” added Carson, who currently serves as Senate Majority Whip. “So (Romney's) vision is very important right now.”

Romney addressed such hot topics as the economy, immigration, and the dangers of “the Obama administration's entitlement nation.”

“I don't know if you can count on the polls, but I've seen filled rooms like this all over New Hampshire,” Romney said.

“(Obama) decided he'd like to put in a new health care system: do you like that?” he asked them, and received a resounding “no” in response.

“He's changed the very fabric of our land, but our founding fathers were the ones who had it right: a merit-based society,” Romney said.

“The entitlement approach is a deadening approach to a nation that has always been empowered by the pursuit of happiness.”

Later, Romney stressed the need for a balanced budget, vowing to concentrate on “spending and growth” if elected, while “getting rid of programs we either don't like or don't need.”

“Obamacare is a huge entitlement. Get rid of it,” he said, adding that other cuts he'd like to see are funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and government subsidizing of Amtrak.

As for programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, Romney said he'd “send all the funding back to the states” if elected, leaving it up to legislators to determine the needs in their home states.

Responding to an audience member's concerns over illegal immigration, Romney emphasized the need for stronger borders and stronger consequences employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.”

“Though it's important to understand that I'm very much in favor of legal immigration,” he added.

Asked by an audience member to voice his thoughts on Attorney General Eric Holder's public warning earlier this month that new voter identification laws could challenge minority voters, Romney said he felt the attorney general “was making a very serious error.”

“We don't want people voting multiple times,” Romney said.

“Is there anyone here over 18 that doesn't have a photo ID?” he asked the audience, noting that no hands were raised.

“That's what I thought,” he added.