Boon For Ohio Art's Etch A Sketch...Bust For Romney Campaign



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In one fell swoop, Eric Fehrnstrom, Mitt Romney's senior campaign advisor, acknowledged and affirmed what Romney's opponents have been saying about Mitt Romney since January.  The comment igniting the fun and games was Fehrnstrom's interview with CNN.  Asked if Romney had been forced to adopt conservative positions during the primaries, would it hurt him with the more moderate voter in the general election against President Barack Obama.  Fehrnstrom responded with, "I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign.  Everything changes.  It's almost like an Etch A Sketch.  You can kind of shake it up, and we start all over again."

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Both Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich grabbed the comment, an Etch A Sketch and a microphone and made hay with it.  Campaigning in Louisiana, Santorum said that "Romney will say what he needs to say to win the election before him, and if he has to say something different because it's a different election and a different group of voters, he will say that, too.  Well, that should be comforting to all of you who are voting in this primary."

Gingrich weighed in with, "You could not have found a more perfect illustration of why people distrust Romney that to have his adviser say that the Etch A Sketch allows you to erase everything in the general election.  You have to read the guy's quote to realize, if he had set out to highlight for everybody why we distrust Romney, I think he couldn't have done a better job." 

theatlanticwire.com

Both Santorum and Gingrich have continually focused on what they call Romney's flip flopping on issues, specifically those most important to the Republican base.  Two issues that Santorum and Gingrich have focused on with Romney has been his change from a more moderate position on abortion and health care reform to his current more conservative view.  For the conservative and evangelical voter, the Etch-A-Sketch comment by his advisor only support the questions and doubts of these republicans.

Romney tired to diffuse the comment of his advisor by saying, "Organizationally, a general election campaign takes on a different profile.  The issues I am running on will be exactly the same.  I am running as a conservative Republican.  I was a conservative Republican governor.  I will be running as a conservative Republican nominee, at that point hopefully, for president.  The policies and positions are the same."

Like previous gaffes within the Romney campaign, this one will have some legs for a few days.  It won't go away though.  People are still mentioning his $10,000 bet request with Rick Perry.  People are still mentioning his comments regarding the poor.  People are still mentioning his fear of losing a job.  One comment can be expected by anyone running for president.  Two comments are certainly the norm for most candidates.  Three or more, one becomes just a little concerned.    

One can be assured that all the publicity for the Etch-A-Sketch is a gift for Ohio Art.  It also is a gift for Santorum and Gingrich giving them as Gingrich pointed out, 'the perfect illustration' of Romney's moderate leanings.  Should Romney continue his march to the nomination, the Etch-A-Sketch will certainly be the gift that keeps giving.  One has to believe the democrats and President Obama's media team have already come up with hundreds of ways to take full benefit of this free gift.