(Newser)
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The energetic, down-to-earth Mitt Romney who wowed at the first presidential debate is taking his new show on the road, Politico reports. Stumping in Florida, the GOP candidate has ditched his old CEO persona for a man who tells warm, personal stories about people who are dying. One was an old college chum paralyzed in an accident, whom Romney comforted by saying, "Billy, I love ya and God bless ya." Romney softly added, "It’s rare that you get the chance to tell someone how much you love them while you still can."
But Politico notes that Romney 2.0 may be too little too late to capture the last undecided voters, and is still viewed more unfavorably than favorably in a new poll. John Dickerson, reeling on Slate over Romney's pivot to the center, asks whether Mitt will "be a moderate of the center-right as he appeared to be on the debate stage or will he be the ruthless realist" of last month. Regardless, the reboot seemed to work with Floridians: "He makes himself more vulnerable," said one. "Everyone has him on this pedestal ... but stories like this make him more human."
