Voters will now look at Mitt differently and through a different prism. We can use this new beginning as an opportunity to reintroduce the campaign and the candidate.
Is that substantively different from the Etch-A-Sketch comment? It appears to be the exact same sentiment, expressed with less vivid imagery. But the comment shows why so many were so up in arms over Fehrnstrom's slip: a cynical truth is a cynical truth, slow news day or no.
This is more than a gaffe, it's a problem from Romney. His general election campaign all but requires he modify the extreme conservative views he took to win over GOP primary voters: a poll yesterday showed that Romney trailed Obama in every single issue but deficit reduction, and was badly hurt in his standing with women voters by the positions he took on contraception. Romney will pivot to economic messages as much as he can, but eventually someone's going to hold his feet to the fire on his primary positions.
No time like the present. The DNC has already posted this ad, which plays like Mitt's Greatest Outtakes from the primary campaign:
Yes, there are two comments (at least) that are taken out of context: Romney's statement that he likes to fire people is a lot more reasonable in context (he was talking about firing catractors that don't perform well, i.e., government), and his statement that he wants to get rid of Planned Parenthood (he was referring to its public funding, not the existence of the organization itself).
But especially with the latter, the contextual meaning of the quote isn't that much better than the presumed meaning. Romney's down 19 points with women; his position to eliminate all federal funding from Planned Parenthood and his endorsement of the Blunt Amendment (also in the video above) are the primary reasons for this huge gap.
As Greg Sargeant points out, Romney won't just be taking heat from Democrats, either:
Sure, Romney will have a chance to reintroduce himself to swing consituencies on more favorable terms as the nominee. But the anger on the right over the Etch-A-Sketch moment confirmed that conservatives fully expect Romney to try to ditch the positions he had to take in the primary. Whether it’s on immigration, abortion and women’s health, or the Paul Ryan budget and its vision of the role of government and the proper distribution of wealth and the tax burden, conservatives will be watching closely for any deviations from previously proclaimed positions and principles.
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment!