(Spencer Green/AP)Seeking to elevate      his candidacy back to a general election fight against      President Barack Obama, Mitt Romney accused the president of      hampering the nation's "economic freedom" and slowing the      nation's recovery by proposing tax increases and expanding      government bureaucracy.    
      In a speech at the University of Chicago, where Obama once      taught law, Romney insisted the nation's "status" and      "standing" are at peril because of the Obama administration's      policies.    
      "The Obama administration's assault on our economic freedom      is the principal reason why the recovery has been so      tepidwhy it couldn't meet their projections, let alone our      expectations," Romney said. "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."    
            [Related: Romney pulls ahead in Illinois, Santorum to spend      primary night in Pennsylvania]    
      The speech, delivered just one day before Illinois'      Republican presidential primary, made no direct mention of      Rick Santorum, Romney's chief rival for the GOP nomination.      But Romney used the moment to double down on his argument      that he's the best-equipped candidate in the race to defeat      Obama and lead the nation's economic recovery.    
      The former Massachusetts governor      accused the Obama administration of standing in the way of      Americans who are trying to build their businesses. He      suggested that "pioneers" like Thomas Edison, the Wright      Brothers, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs would have found it "much      more difficult, if not impossible" to carry out their dreams      under regulations enacted by the Obama administration and      Congress.    
      'Some of America's greatest success stories are of people who      started out with nothing but a good idea and a corner in      their garage," said Romney. "Too often today, Americans look      at what it takes to start a business and they don't see      promise and opportunity. They see government standing in      their way. The real cost isn't just the taxes paid and money      spent complying with the rules. It's the businesses that are      never started, the ideas that are never pursued, the dreams      that are deferred."    
      In a question and answer session after his speech, Romney      repeated a statement that he's made several times      recentlyinsisting that he doesn't understand how young      people could vote for a Democrat for president. Among other      things, he attacked Obama and Congress for not proposing any      concrete measures to make Social Security solvent for future      generations.    
      "You may not like my ideas, but at least I put ideas out      there," Romney said.    
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Mitt Romney accuses President Obama of blocking ‘economic freedom’