Etch A Sketch — The children's toy became a factor Wednesday in the Republican presidential race in Md.
THE SHIFTING SANDS OF A CHILDREN’S TOY
THREATEN CANDIDACY OF A FRONTRUNNER
Ex-governor will survive, but at what cost?
INSTEAD OF SAVORING AN ENDORSEMENT,
HE IS FORCED TO DO DAMAGE CONTROL
By Alan Z. Forman
What politician wouldn’t love to have an Etch A Sketch to reinvent a political persona, erase a gaffe on the campaign trail, or start anew after putting a bullet in his foot or a foot in his mouth?
Or to rub out an aide who’s done it for him? The shifting sands of the Etch A Sketch can do it all.
On a day when the GOP’s frontrunner Mitt Romney scored what may yet prove to be the most important endorsement of the presidential race to date — from the son and brother of two ex-presidents — he needed an Etch A Sketch to erase a major misstep caused by the very Etch A Sketch itself.
Instead of being able to savor the coveted endorsement of Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida, son of George H.W. and brother of Dubya, ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney instead had to do damage control because of a gaffe committed by longtime senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom, who responded to a CNN interviewer’s question about shifting focus from Republican challengers to President Barack Obama, by saying:
“It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again.”
