etch sketch gaffe
>> reporter: it was one of the big republican endorsements mitt romney craved, but former florida governor jeb bush 's statement in the wake of the illinois win came on paper. now is the time for republicans to unite behind governor romney . and it lacked the enthusiasm and pump that characterized some others. still, bush's signal that romney 's nomination is inevitable was exactly the message team romney hoped would drive the day, but like some other membererable flbs.
>> i like being able to fire people .
>> i'm not concerned about the poor.
>> a gaffe rained on the paw raid. in this case, it was eric fern strm's response to whether his conservative stances in the primaries will hurt him in november.
>> you hit a reset button for the fall came pain. it's almost like an etch-a-sketch.
>> by lunch time , etch-a-sketch was firal. they had tweeted a caricature inside the toy. soon after, the dnc was out with a video. by afternoon, they were using actual etch-a-sketches as propped.
>> to have his communications director say to all of us, if we're dumb enough to nominate him, we should accept by the acceptance speech he'll move back to the left, triggers everything we're wered about.
>> santorum's campaign even sent an aide to hand out etch-a-sketches.
>> he brushed away a question before answering some at a hastily called conference.
>> a campaign takes on a different profile. the issues i'm running on will be exactly the same.
>> you know, while romney did hope to add the words presumptive nominee in front of his name today, the campaign even before etch-a-sketch had one eye on santorum. their daily attack e-mail went out and they have negative adds airing in wisconsin.
Romney acted to hastily control the damage resulting from comments by adviser Eric Fehrnstrom on CNN, which prompted a day's worth of attacks from Democrats, as well as Romney's Republican rivals.
Romney told reporters following his lone event today that while his campaign will change organization, the issues on which he'll run "will be exactly the same."
"I'm running as a conservative Republican," he said. "I'll be running as a conservative Republican nominee."
The comments gave Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich a new weapon to use against Romney, figuratively and literally illustrating their case that the former Massachusetts governor is only a conservative of political convenience.The two men, who lag behind Romney in the delegate count, jumped at the opportunity to attack Romney after a senior adviser, Eric Fehrnstrom, this morning compared moving into the general election campaign to the children’s toy this morning, saying, “you can kind of shake it up and restart all of over again.”
Both Gingrich and Santorum brought small Etch A Sketch toys to their afternoon events in the state of Louisiana.
“We're not looking for someone who's the Etch A Sketch candidate,” Santorum said after pulling out the toy during his event in Mandeville. “We're looking for someone who writes what they believe in in stone and stands true to what they say."
Santorum even told the crowd it was “the first of what I’m going to now call my ‘Etch A Sketch Tour of America.'"
“Given everybody's fears about Gov. Romney's flip flops, to have his communications director say publicly to all of us, if we're dumb enough to nominate him we should expect by the acceptance speech he'll move back to the left, triggers everything we should worry about,” Gingrich said as he began his town hall in Lake Charles, where he appeared holding the toy. "I think having an Etch A Sketch as your campaign model, raises every doubt about where we're going."
The former House speaker handed the popular childhood toy to a little girl sitting in the front row of the Harlequin Steaks and Seafood restaurant and joked, “You can now be a presidential candidate.” (Gingrich went on and autographed the toy for her after the event.)
Santorum said he purchased his Etch A Sketch at a Toys R Us store “down the way” while the Gingrich campaign simply said they bought the “Cars” themed toy today.
But the two candidates themselves were not alone in their purchases.
More than 2,000 miles away outside Romney's Arbutus event, Santorum’s press secretary was passing out mini Etch A Sketches in the parking lot.
Holding the one remaining toy she had yet to distribute, Alice Stewart told reporters this “gaffe” from a top Romney advisor “confirms what a lot of conservative have been afraid of.”
“The campaign acknowledged that his [Romney’s] conservative credentials can come and go with the climate, just like an Etch A Sketch, and we can’t have that,” Stewart said.
Romney had initially refused to address Fehrnstrom’s Etch A Sketch comments while asked several times on the ropeline following his event in Maryland.
“I’m not doing a press conference right now, OK?” Romney told reporters.
One group that does seem happy with all the buzz of the children’s toy today is the Ohio Art Company, the Etch A Sketch manufacturer.
"Happy to see Etch A Sketch, an American classic toy, is DRAWING attention with political candidates as a cultural icon and important piece of our society," said Nicole Gresh, spokeswoman for the manufacturer. "A profound toy, highly recognized and loved by all, is now SHAKING up the national debate. Nothing is as quintessentially American as Etch A Sketch and a good old fashion political debate.”
The Ohio Art Company, which makes the children's iconic drawing device, saw its shares increase as much as 213 percent after a key aide to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney made an ill-thought reference to the toy.
Asked if Romney had tacked too far to the right to win over non-Republican voters, long-standing advisor Eric Fehrnstrom said the general election campaign would be "almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again."
That reinforced core Republican doubts about Romney's conservative credentials, and overshadowed Romney's key win in Illinois and his endorsement by Republican big wig Jeb Bush.
But the Ohio Art Company tried to make hay out of Romney's woes.
In a statement the company said it was "happy to see Etch A Sketch, an American classic toy, is DRAWING attention with political candidates as a cultural icon and important piece of our society.
"A profound toy, highly recognized and loved by all, is now SHAKING up the national debate."