Mitt Romney has now responded to the Etch-a-Sketch story, in which his top aide said voters minds were like an Etch-a-Sketch: Mitt could reposition back to the center in time for the general election with little damage from the primaries. In other words, you just repaint the picture. No one remembers. Romney himself now says that wasn’t about him shifting his positions. It was about changing the campaign’s org chart as he moves toward the general. – Josh Marshall, quoted at Talking Points Memo
Wednesday morning was supposed to be a high point for Mitt Romney, who secured one of the the most sought-after endorsements of the cycle in former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush after an easy win in Illinois. Instead, a coalition of Democratic and Republican political operatives used every possible tool at their disposal, from cutting-edge social media to old-school political theater, to spoil his day completely.
The story began with a gaffe by Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom, who responded to a CNN reporter’s question about whether his candidate had moved too far to the right in the primary by comparing the campaign to a certain children’s toy.
“It’s almost like an Etch-A-Sketch,” Fehrnstrom said. “You can kind of shake it up and restart all of over again.”
2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/03/the-day-in-etch-a-sketch-how-the-political-machine-overran-romney.php
I think at this point it has become crystal clear that American politics now predicates all campaigns on the assumption that the majority of voters are ignorant boobs, with an attention span of about 60 seconds, who make all their decisions based on their most primal fears, their bigotry, hatred, contempt for women, and homophobia. How great the 21st century is turning out to be.
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats’ feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
…
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
– T.S. Eliot
