Romney slams Obama for 'assault' on economic freedom, doesn't see how any young person could vote Democrat this November

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been criss-crossing between cities in Illinois before the state's GOP primary Tuesday, arguing that former Illinois senator and current President Barack Obama has "attacked the cornerstone of American prosperity: economic freedom."

“The Obama administration’s assault on our economic freedom is the principal reason why the recovery has been so tepid,” Romney said during a speech at the University of Chicago Monday. “If we don’t change course now, this assault on freedom could damage our economy and the well-being of American families for decades to come."

The Washington Post reports that Romney's 19-minute speech including the word "freedom" 29 times. The Post notes that Romney avoided mentioning his opponents throughout the remarks, and paid homage to the University of Chicago’s long tradition as an intellectual center for free-market economics and heralded former professor the late Milton Friedman.

“Our freedom is never safe because unelected, unaccountable regulators are always on the prowl,” Romney said. “And under President Obama, they are multiplying like proverbial rabbits.”

Following his speech, Romney held a Q and A, where Yahoo reports Romney repeated a statement that he's made several times recently—insisting that he doesn't understand how young people could vote for a Democrat for president.

"You may not like my ideas, but at least I put ideas out there," Romney said.

According to Yahoo, Romney also attacked President Obama and Congress in the Q and A for not proposing any concrete measures to make Social Security solvent for future generations.

The National Journal notes that at Charlie Parker’s Diner in Springfield earlier in the day, Romney told patrons: “I believe the economy is coming back, by the way. We’ll see what happens. It’s had ups and downs. I think it’s finally coming back.”