MILFORD, Mich. (AP) - One day after a feisty debate, Mitt Romney criticized Republican rival Rick Santorum and courted tea party voters Thursday in a pair of primary states separated by nearly 2,000 miles.

"I appreciate the work you're doing. I appreciate your willingness to get out of your homes," he told an audience of tea party members in suburban Detroit, an appearance designed to let him reach out to a part of the electorate that tends to favor his campaign rivals over him.

Romney drew applause when he attacked President Barack Obama as uninformed about the workings of the American economy and called him "a man comfortable living with trillion-dollar deficits."

But he largely sidestepped when asked how he could be able to counter Obama in a debate in the fall campaign if the president brought up similarities between the health care law Romney signed as governor of Massachusetts and the health care overhaul passed by Congress that Republican contenders have vowed to repeal.