Eric Thayer for The New York TimesMitt Romney attended a primary-night rally in Milwaukee, Wis. 
MILWAUKEE — Mitt Romney tightened his grip on the Republican nomination on Tuesday with a sweep of the primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia, and found himself in his first direct engagement with President Obama, an unmistakable signal that the general election would not wait for internal Republican politics. 
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Mitt Romney campaigned with Representative Paul D. Ryan on Tuesday at a sandwich shop in Waukesha, Wis. Mr. Romney emerged from the evening with substantial gains in delegates and a growing perception that he was winning over previously reluctant elements of the party. In winning the main battleground of Wisconsin, Mr. Romney led among strong Tea Party supporters and ran closely with Rick Santorum among those who consider themselves to be very conservative and among evangelical Christians, according to exit polls. Mr. Santorum, who at one point led in polls here, said he would continue to compete for voters who “have yet to be heard” in the coming primaries, starting with his home state, Pennsylvania, on April 24. But the day was in some respects the start of the general election. Mr. Obama for the first time singled Mr. Romney out by name, during a major address dedicated to the budget championed by Mr. Romney’s marquee endorser in Wisconsin — Representative Paul D. Ryan — which the president called “social Darwinism.” “He said that he’s ‘very supportive’ of this new budget,” Mr. Obama said of Mr. Romney while speaking at a meeting of editors and reporters in Washington. Using a mocking tone, and referring obliquely to perceptions of his potential opponent’s elite pedigree, Mr. Obama added, “And he even called it ‘marvelous,’ which is a word you don’t often hear when it comes to describing a budget; it’s a word you don’t hear generally.” Taking the stage to declare victory in downtown Milwaukee, Mr. Romney took his turn to strike general election themes. “President Obama thinks he’s doing a good job — I’m not kidding,” Mr. Romney said, speaking with a huge American flag behind him and an excited hall of supporters in front of him. “It’s enough to make you think that years of flying around on Air Force One, surrounded by an adoring staff of true believers telling you that you’re great and you’re doing a great job, it’s enough to make you think that you might become a little out of touch.” Even as he assailed Mr. Obama as presiding over a “government-centered society,” Mr. Romney spoke in upbeat, elevated and optimistic tones that were steeped in themes of patriotism fashioned for a general election. “The dreamers can dream a little bigger, the help wanted signs can be dusted off, and we can start again,” Mr. Romney said. “And this time we’ll get it right.” Mr. Obama’s new focus on Mr. Romney represents a sudden but much-thought-out shift. The White House had been content until now to watch the Republican race unfold on its own, and let Mr. Santorum and Mr. Romney batter each other without its help. But as Mr. Romney has started to solidify his delegate lead, unify his party and repair the damage to his favorability ratings from these past few months of hard campaigning, Mr. Obama’s aides decided to take their engagement to a new level on Tuesday. The president will not directly confront Mr. Romney every day, aides said. That responsibility will largely be left to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and the re-election campaign. But the frequency of the television advertising is increasing, an intentional strategy of the Obama campaign to deny Mr. Romney a moment to rebuild from his long and bruising primary fight. The Democrats have conducted extensive research on Mr. Romney, his positions and the early perceptions that voters may have of him. A key finding of polling and other surveys, advisers say, is that Mr. Romney remains undefined to a wide universe of people, a void that the Obama campaign is eager to fill while Mr. Romney is still trying to secure the nomination. The president’s re-election team was initially planning to start directly confronting the likely Republican nominee in February — the week after Mr. Romney won the Florida primary — but the rapid rise of Mr. Santorum delayed the need for that effort. Now, advisers to Mr. Obama say they are intent on keeping the arguments from the Republican race fresh in the minds of voters, including those who were not closely following the primary. Mr. Obama, as he spoke about income disparity in America on Tuesday, outlined what his campaign hopes to make a central question of the presidential race: Should voters trust Mr. Romney, one of the wealthiest candidates in modern times, to be fair to them? Ashley Parker contributed reporting from Milwaukee, and Mark Landler from Washington.
