Romney focuses on Obama

Associated Press

GREEN BAY, Wis.

As Mitt Romney looked for a sweep in today’s three Republican primaries to tighten his grip on the party’s nomination, President Barack Obama criticized the GOP front-runner by name in a campaign ad for the first time, signaling that he, too, thinks the nomination race is all but over.

Regardless of the outcome in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington, D.C., Romney was shifting rapidly toward the general election — and the challenges of Obama’s better-financed and better-organized opposition.

The president flexed that campaign muscle Monday, suggesting that he’s ready for Romney even if the former Massachusetts governor isn’t quite ready for him. Obama released a television ad set to run in six swing states accusing Romney of standing with “Big Oil.” The ad came hours after the release of a similar campaign from an Obama ally.

Romney has been ignoring his Republican rivals for several days and taking it to the Democratic president, whom he accused Monday of “crushing dreams” with a “government-centered society.”

“He takes his political inspiration from the capitals of Europe,” Romney told supporters in Green Bay, Wis., one day before the latest primaries in the GOP fight. “His version of a perfect world is a big-spending big government.”

The grinding Republican primary, already 3 months old, has complicated his ability to re-focus his broader organization and resources toward Obama. Aides concede that staff-building and fundraising for the fall match-up are lagging.

Romney’s recent string of high-dollar California fundraisers was limited to raising money only for the Republican primary contests. Aides are only beginning to take steps to raise cash to use against Obama, who has been aggressively fundraising and distributed staff on the ground in almost every state in the nation.

The delay has given Obama a massive head start. The disparity is staggering.

At the end of February, Obama reported $84.7 million in his campaign account compared with Romney’s $7.3 million.

Obama has more than 530 paid staff compared with roughly 100 for Romney.

A fading Rick Santorum, also campaigning in Wisconsin on Monday, said that Romney has essentially bought his success by outspending the competition.