Romney: Obama left ‘out of touch’ by true believers

Celebrating his continued march toward the GOP presidential nomination on Tuesday, Mitt Romney told a crowd of supporters in Milwaukee that the trappings of the presidency had left Barack Obama“a little out of touch.”

Romney was fresh off wins in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia, where a total of 98 delegates were at stake. The victories put more distance between Romney and rival Rick Santorum, the only remaining candidate who still has a chance at blocking him from winning the 1,144 delegates he’ll need to secure the nomination.

Still, the Republican nominating process has been bruising for Romney, helping to reinforce criticisms that he is an out-of-touch rich guy. On Tuesday night, Romney turned that critique on the president.

“Years of flying around on Air Force One, surrounded by an adoring staff of true believers telling you what a great job you are doing, well, that might be enough to make you a little out of touch,” Romney said.

The prepared comment came after he had blasted Obama over the state of the economy.

“When you drive home tonight and stop at a gas station, just take a look at the prices and ask yourself, ‘Four more years?’” he said. The crowd booed.

“I agree,” Romney said.

He repeatedly warned that Obama was determined to create a ”government-centered society.”

“Out-of-touch liberals like Barack Obama say they want a strong economy, but in everything they do, they show they don’t like business very much,” he said. “…So it’s a bit like saying you’d like an omelet, but you don’t like eggs.”

Romney was introduced by Wisconsin Rep. Paul D. Ryan, the author of a House-passed budget that Obama blasted today as “thinly veiled social Darwinism.”

“Frankly, I remember him saying he was going to be a uniter, not a divider,” Ryan said of Obama before welcoming Romney to the stage. (It wasPresident George W. Bush, not Obama, who popularized the “uniter, not divider,” phrase.)

Turning his attention to upcoming primary contests in Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, Romney called on his supporters to help him take the next step toward “that destination of November 6, when across America we can give a sigh of relief and know that the promise of America has been kept.”

“The dreamers can dream a little bigger, the “Help wanted” signs can be dusted off, and we can start again,” he said.

kim.geiger@latimes.com

Original source: Romney: Obama left ‘out of touch’ by true believers