I’ve been covering politics for so long that I sometimes wonder if I’m too cynical and if my expectations for politicians are too low. But then something happens to convince me that they’re not.

Today, Eric Fehrnstrom, a senior campaign adviser to Mitt Romney, was on CNN, basking in the afterglow of his candidate’s victory in Illinois. The interviewer asked Mr. Fehrnstrom if Mr. Romney’s move right-ward in the primaries will hurt his chances in the general.

“I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign,” Mr. Fehrstrom said. “Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You kind of shake it up and we start all over again.”



I had to watch that clip several times on YouTube before I was sure it wasn’t an Auto-Tune remix mash-up. But that’s what he said. Perhaps he forgot that news travels fast in the post-carrier pigeon era, or perhaps he simply didn’t care. After all, he seems to think that no one is paying attention.

His opponents didn’t waste any time jumping on the remark. The Democratic National Committee has already made an Etch A Sketch attack ad and both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are already carrying around Etch A Sketches . As David Weigel reported on Slate, “Santorum joked that he was starting an Etch A Sketch tour. Gingrich handed off the toy to a child, and told him that he, too, could run for president.” (The point, I guess, is that while Mitt Romney styles himself as an out of control right-wing zealot, Mr. Santorum and Mr. Gingrich actually are out of control right-wing zealots.)

Mr. Romney figures he can win by simply erasing the Primary Campaign Romney and introducing a new, shinier, kinder and gentler General Election Romney. It’s breathtakingly cynical and suggests total contempt for voters. But is it wrong?