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A new Obama campaign TV ad in seven battleground states invokes former President Bill Clinton to directly rebut claims by Mitt Romney that the administration has a plan to "gut" welfare reform.

The 30-second spot, titled "Blatant," highlights Clinton's response to a recent Romney TV ad alleging Obama plans to drop the work requirement that was a key component of the 1996 welfare reform Clinton helped champion.

The 42nd president said in a statement earlier this week that Romney's claim simply is "not true."

While both sides have been playing fast and loose with the facts in their advertising, several independent fact-checkers have called the Romney ad highly misleading.

Get more pure politics at ABC News.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com

Its central allegation is at best an exaggeration, ABC News concluded , since the administration is offering states the opportunity to experiment with new ways of implementing the welfare law in order to boost employment, not reduce it.

Several states, including those with Republican governors, had expressed support for the increased flexibility. But the administration says no states have yet formally applied for waivers from the current rules, therefore none have been approved.

"Blatant" will begin airing today in Colorado, Iowa, Florida, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia - the same states where Romney has been airing his ad.