Although Mitt Romney has described himself as "severely conservative", this week we saw a glimpse of a moderate, pragmatic, former Governor who has been pushed so far to the right to win the Republican nomination, that he was almost unrecognisable.
At the Clinton Global Initiative and at the NBC Education Nation Forum, we saw someone new - Mitt Romney the former moderate Governor of the Commonwealth Massachusetts.
This week Romney begins the boldest flip flop adventure of the modern political era in an attempt to pivot back to the Governor he used to be.
In a calculated effort to placate the extreme right wing of his party, Romney has spent this entire campaign running away from his record as Massachusetts Governor.
And since nothing has worked up to this point to push Romney ahead in the polls statewide and nationwide and since the "47% video" and the new "harvesting video" are clearly doing some major harm, Team Romney is unveiling the new and improved Mitt just in time for the first
Presidential Debate on Wednesday.
Many thought that Mitt Romney - a moderate Massachusetts Governor, a fiscally conservative former business man who passed "Romney Care" and who supported a women's right to choose, would have been the perfect Republican Candidate to defeat Barack Obama.
However, it is now crystal clear that "that guy", could not have secured the Republican nomination this time around without "going severe".
Since the end of the Republican Primaries, we have all wondered how and when Romney would decide it was time to pivot back toward the soft and creamy center.
This week we learned that our wait is over.
In his two recent appearances, at the CGI and the NBC Education Nation Forum, his new compassionate persona was clearly on display.
This is a preview of the Mitt Romney who will appear at the Presidential Debates Wednesday Night in Denver.
Despite all the criticism of the "47% Percent Tape" from the left, Romney was correct from a tactical point of view.
At this juncture in the campaign both sides have secured those voters who are committed to vote for their candidates on principle.
Therefore the goal is in fact to appeal to a slender sliver in each battle ground state - the undecided middle.
Romney has shown that he is an exceptionally agile, adaptive and chameleon-like politician who has the ability to change to suit each audience.
Barack Obama and the Democrats should not underestimate Romney's desire to win or his ability to conform to the requirements of the moment.
To be blunt, Romney clearly intends to move toward the center and tout his moderate record as Massachusetts Governor and now is exactly the right time to do it.
For many of the undecided voters, these three Presidential Debates could be decisive.
These Debates will be the first time the electorate gets to see the candidates interact side by side.
At this point, Romney has little to loose if he moderates his prior positions.
He is the Republican Nominee and those who wish to end the Obama Presidency have no where else to go.
Although they could arguably stay home they are less likely to do so because their main goal is defeating Barack Obama and they really do not care who replaces him.
And if Romney intends to appeal to undecided voters somewhere in the center - the Debates are his last chance to change the dynamics of the race.
As they head into the Debates, Obama is ahead in the polls and Romney must play catch up.
In this first Presidential Debate on domestic issues, the stakes are very high for Romney.
He needs to show his command of the issues, present real ideas that can work, prove he can relate to the average American and convince enough undecided voters that they should welcome him into their living rooms for the next four years.
Wednesday night Mitt Romney will be smooth, poised, polished, reasonable and thoughtful and in command of the necessary facts and details.
He will set his own new agenda as he stands across the stage from the President of the United States demonstrating that the "severely conservative" Mitt Romney is now a thing of the past.
This blog can also be read at Sky News.