Nearly a week after President Obama stopped his campaign's momentum with a lackluster debate performance, former President Clinton sought Tuesday to help him recover by offering a withering new critique of Mitt Romney.

"I had a different reaction to that first debate than a lot of people did," Clinton told nearly 2,000 supporters at a campaign rally for Obama and other Democrats. "I thought, 'Wow, here's old moderate Mitt. Where ya been, boy?'"

“Now, the problem with this deal is the deal was made by severe conservative Mitt,” Clinton continued. “That was how he described himself for two whole years, until three or four days before the debate -- they all got together and said, ‘Hey, man, this ship is sinking faster than the Titanic… so just show up with a sunny face and say, I didn’t say all that stuff I said in the last two years. You gonna believe me or your lying eyes here? Come on.’”

“And if I had been the president, I might have said, ‘I hate to get in the way of this, I miss you,’” he added.

Clinton also emphasized the progress the economy had made in recent years, with millions of jobs being created and unemployment dropping below 8 percent for the first time since the crash. He criticized Republicans who slammed the recent unemployment report.

"I want a president and Congress that loves it when unemployment drops...I want someone who says, 'Hallelujah,' every time the unemployment rate drops," Clinton said to cheers and applause.

H/T CNN for the video embed.