Obama fires back, asks who is the 'real Mitt Romney'?

US: President Barack Obama came out swinging on Thursday as he sought to contain damage from a lackluster debate performance, asking who is "the real Mitt Romney" and saying Americans are owed "the truth."

"I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney," Obama said, accusing his foe of ditching unpopular positions on tax and education, adding: "if you want to be president, you owe the American people the truth." Obama was fired up, passionate and engaged as he cheered up 12,000 supporters at his first rally in Denver -- descriptions that could not have been applied to his weak debate showing on Wednesday night.

"It couldn't have been Mitt Romney because the real Mitt Romney has been running around the country for the last year, promising five trillion dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy," Obama said. "The fellow on stage last night said he didn't know anything about that.

"The real Mitt Romney said we don't need any more teachers in our schools." "The fellow on stage last night -- he loves teachers, can't get enough of them."

Obama also seized on Romney's comment that he didn't know anything about a break in the tax code for companies that outsource jobs overseas, adding that if it was true he needed a new accountant. AFP