Mitt Romney is setting the stage for the first presidential debate, saying President Obama will no longer be able to "fool people" about his stance on issues such as the auto bailout and taxes.

Romney and Obama will face off Oct. 3 at the University of Denver in the first of three face-to-face televised matchups.

"The president will not be able to continue to mischaracterize my pathway," Romney said Sunday, according to ABC News. "I'll continue to describe mine, he will describe his, and people will make a choice. That's the great thing about democracy."

Robert Gibbs, a former White House spokesman, gives Romney the edge because the GOP nominee had to spar frequently with his primary opponents.

"Mitt Romney ... has an advantage because he's been through 20 of these debates in the primaries over the last year," Gibbs said Sunday on Fox News. "He even bragged that he was declared a winner in 16 of those debates. So, I think, in that sense, having been through this much more recently than President Obama, I think he starts with an advantage."

Romney said Obama has been "inaccurate" in his attacks, citing the auto bailout and taxes among other issues.

The first debate will focus on domestic issues, broken down in six 15-minute segments. Debate moderator Jim Lehrer of PBS said last week that half the segments will be devoted to a discussion of the economy.