DENVER — President Barack Obama was back on message this morning, attacking his opponent Mitt Romney in a way he was not able to do during last night's debate.

"When he was asked what programs he would cut, the only thing he mentioned was public television," Obama said. "Thank goodness someone is getting tough on Big Bird."

Then, responding to someone in the audience, he laughed and said, "Elmo too."

It was a very different version of Obama than the one who appeared on stage here last night, when he struggled to compete against Romney's dominant performance.

Speaking to supporters at an outdoor rally in Denver this morning, Obama seemed content to dismiss last night's upset as a big fluke.

"When I got on stage last night, I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney," he said, going on to suggest that the Republican candidate misrepresented his own policy positions.

But the President hinted he might be a little better prepared the next time he and Romney meet.

"It'll be interesting to see how what that guy who was pretending to be Mitt Romney says at our debate on foreign policy this month," Obama said.

Later at a campaign stop in Wisconsin, Obama brought out a similar Sesame Street line.

"When he was asked what he would do to actually cut spending and reduce the deficit, he said he would eliminate public television funding," Obama said of Romney. "But I just want to make sure got this straight — he'll get rid of regulations on Wall Street, but he's going to crack down on Sesame Street."