If you shake him hard enough, does he disappear?
Romney and the Etch a Sketch. It was one topic Romney was hoping to avoid after his big win in Illinois Tuesday.
But unfortunately the GOP candidate Mitt Romney and the Etch a Sketch are eternally linked thanks to campaign adviser Eric Fehrnstrom’s comments comparing Romney and an Etch A Sketch.
Yes, the Etch A Sketch. That classic red-framed toy with the two little knobs. Draw anything you like, and when you’re done just shake it and you have a blank screen again.
There are so many problems that go along with comparing Romney and the Etch A Sketch that if the other GOP candidates don’t use it against him, the Democrats definitely will.
Eric Fehrnstrom compared Mitt Romney’s situation in the primaries to an Etch a Sketch. During a CNN interview, Fehrnstrom was asked whether Romney has had to tack so far to the right it could hurt him in a general election against President Obama in the fall.
In response, Fehrnstrom compared Romney and the Etch A Sketch.
“Well, 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 restart all over again,” Fehrnstrom said.
Now conservatives and liberals alike are worried about the fall campaign.
Will Romney hit the reset button? Romney has worked hard to paint himself as the social conservative in the primary campaigns. If he becomes the GOP nominee and goes up against President Obama in the fall, conservative are worried that he’ll start to take a more moderate stance on the issues. Democrats are worried that this tactic could help Romney take the swing states.
Fehrnstrom’s comment about Romney and the Etch A Sketch forced Romney to state publicly that he would not be “shaking the Etch A Sketch” to clear his slate in the fall.
“The issues I’m running on will be exactly the same. I’m running as a conservative Republican,” Romney said.
Romney’s campaign is trying to move on from the Etch A Sketch comments, but in this social media age it seems like Romney and the Etch A Sketch will be one of those political moments—like Howard Dean’s yell in 2004, or basically any Sarah Palin interview—that sticks with the public long after the race is over.
Romney is the frontrunner in the GOP race, so like an Etch A Sketch, he still seems to be a favorite.
