ABINGTON, Va. — Mitt Romney's campaign is shooting down a simmering online theory the Republican nominee used a "cheat sheet" in Wednesday night's debate against President Barack Obama.

The theory — extensively documented by the liberal blog Daily Kos and picked up on the Daily Beast and elsewhere — focuses on a brief moment as Romney took the stage, pulled something out of his pocket, and put it on the podium.

But according to a Romney aide the object was simply a handkerchief, not an illicit list of zingers.

"It's a handkerchief," the aide said simply in response to the post.

Romney can be seen at another moment in the debate using the handkerchief.