Romney Focuses on November as Primaries Resume Cheryl Senter for The New York Times As Republicans in five other states voted Tuesday, Mitt Romney addressed general election themes in Manchester, N.H. MANCHESTER, N.H. - Mitt Romney effectively assumed the helm of the Republican Party on Tuesday after five primary victories across the Northeast solidified his stature as the presidential nominee-in-waiting who is trying to unite conservatives and persuade independent voters that President Obama does not deserve a second term. As Mr. Romney received a significant boost in delegates from New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware, lurching closer to the total needed to formally secure the nomination, he marked the milestone by outlining themes of the fall campaign in a visit to this battleground state. "Americans have always been eternal optimists," Mr. Romney said during a speech to supporters here. Over the last three and a half years, we have seen hopes and dreams diminished by false promises and weak leadership. Everywhere I go, Americans are tired of being tired. Mr. Romney, who fought back challenges from a Republican field that once included nearly a dozen rivals, has been shifting his campaign toward the general election since Rick Santorum left the race two weeks ago. But as Newt Gingrich indicated a new willingness to reassess his candidacy after his defeat in Delaware, a primary he considered crucial, the formal end to the race finally seemed at hand, giving Mr. Romney latitude to assert control over the Republican National Committee and concentrate on how to confront Mr. Obama. The Romney campaign, which has been expanding rapidly, is settling on a message for the fall campaign. Mr. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, laid out a succinct argument for his economic leadership and urged Americans to consider whether they are better off now than when Mr. Obama took office three years ago. "President Obama is not going to run on his record, but we are," said Ed Gillespie, a senior adviser to the Romney campaign. He said Mr. Romney would detail his economic vision as he prepared to challenge Mr. Obama, declaring, "It's not just about the last three years, but the future." More than 200 delegates were at stake on Tuesday. With the outcome of the nominating contest no longer in doubt, Mr. Romney barely campaigned in the states, but he was expected to win the lion's share of the delegates and accelerate his effort to reach the 1,144 required for the nomination. Is it easier to make ends meet? Is it easier to sell your home or buy a new one? Mr. Romney asked, ticking through a litany of challenges facing Americans. He added, "If the answer were yes to those questions, then President Obama would be running for re-election based on his achievements and rightly so, but because he has failed, he will run a campaign of diversions and distractions and distortions." Although Mr. Romney often talks about how he and the president offer competing visions of the country's future, he will try to turn the focus to a contrast between his vision and Mr. Obama's record. The campaign will mine details of the president's actions in office, particularly his stewardship of the economy. Mr. Romney will also begin introducing himself to a wider audience of voters who have yet to focus on the general election. In addition to having him talk about his background and business experience, the campaign will increase the presence of his wife, Ann, and five sons on the trail. On Monday night, Mrs. Romney headlined a Republican dinner in Stamford, Conn., choking up when she talked about how her husband stood by her side when she was found to have multiple sclerosis. The Republican primary campaign, which was defined by the acrimony among Mr. Romney, Mr. Santorum and their rivals over the party's direction, is drawing to a close in an anticlimactic fashion. Some Republicans have done little to mask their tepid response to Mr. Romney, but several party leaders said Tuesday that they did not worry about getting conservatives to rally behind him. "It's Obama that's going to get Republicans jazzed up," said Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, who has expressed support for Mr. Romney. As he gets his positions across and shows the contrast with where Obama's taken the country and where he wants to take us, people will clearly see what he is talking about. As Mr. Romney attends fund-raisers in New York and New Jersey on Wednesday, many of his top aides will gather in Boston for what one adviser described as a day of "serious meetings" to discuss building his campaign into a general election operation ready to take on Mr. Obama. Already, the Romney campaign has started creating a "cubicle village" in the now-empty first floor of its headquarters to accommodate all of its new hires. One campaign challenge will be keeping Mr. Romney in the spotlight, particularly as he competes with the White House for attention. To that end, his campaign manager, Matt Rhoades, is devising a rollout calendar with the intent of introducing national endorsements (former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York on Monday) or big-name campaigners (Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who spent Monday with Mr. Romney in Pennsylvania) almost daily. The Romney campaign is aggressively looking into all aspects of the Obama administration, with a plan to present the president as a nice and likable but unsuited to solving the country's economic challenges. Aides said they intended to keep the conversation focused on Mr. Obama's record in the White House and not his personal biography. "There is a pretty broad view that President Obama is a good family man and decent guy, but may be in over his head," said Mr. Gillespie, a former counselor to George W. Bush, who was brought into the Romney campaign this month. He said the argument against re-election would be built around the suggestion that Mr. Obama "has not displayed strong leadership, but failed leadership and weak leadership." Mr. Obama offered his take on Mr. Romney during a taping on Tuesday of "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," saying: "I've met him, but we're not friends." Ashley Parker reported from Manchester, and Jeff Zeleny from Washington. Jennifer Steinhauer contributed reporting from Washington.