SALEM — Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney spoke to a packed house at the Boys and Girls Club of Salem Thursday.

Fresh from an eight-vote victory in the Iowa primary, Romney was joined by Sens. John McCain of Arizona, the 2008 GOP nominee, and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire.

“This is a crucial election, and I don’t have to tell you that,” McCain said.

McCain said that he and Romney share the same values and philosophies about what’s best for this country. He called Romney a person with leadership skills and a proven track record of service in both the public and private sectors.

“We need to get America back on track,” McCain said. “We need to restore the confidence of Americans in their government.”

Romney focused his attacks on the current occupant of the White House, pointing to a gap between what he said President Barack Obama promised to do and what he has accomplished. He criticized the president for failing to stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions through sanctions, credible military options, and by backing Iranian dissidents during the recent uprisings.

He then turned his attention to the economy and what he called a tepid recovery.

“We have a president who did not cause the economic downturn, but he is making it more difficult for the economy to recover,” Romney said.

The current administration has added 135,000 government jobs and padded the National Labor Relations Board, Romney said. Such actions scare entrepreneurs and investors, he said.

“This president is a crony capitalist,” Romney said. “He’s a job killer.”

“I want to make sure that America is number one, as it has been for a hundred years, for entrepreneurs,” Romney said.

An audience member asked why “Romney care” was good for Massachusetts and how it would work in other states.

“Each state should craft a solution that works for them,” Romney said.

Romney also fielded questions on the tax code, Social Security and Medicare.

“Right now the people who have been hurt the most are the middle class in America,” Romney said.

In office he would push to simplify the tax code and put Social Security on a sustainable path, Romney said.

Grace Alenson of Manchester is firmly in the Romney camp. Her parents are from Massachusetts and liked how he governed there. She believes Romney has the experience to lead the country.

“He knows what to do to fix the economy,” Alenson said.

Mackenzie Logan, of Windham, is leaning toward Romney but would have liked to hear him speak more about the environment, she said. She’s satisfied with his experience.

“We need a businessman to run the country,” Logan said.