Will Romney flip?

WASHINGTON

Maybe the reset button was too high-tech. Now Mitt Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom, to the simultaneous delight of the Rick Santorum and Barack Obama campaigns, has compared the general election to “an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and we start all over again.”

Campaign moments

In the spirit of that classic toy, here are some primary campaign moments and positions that Romney might care to erase:

Immigration. Romney said that as president he would veto the DREAM Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented children of immigrants who attend college. He promoted the notion of “self-deportation” as a means of dealing with illegal immigration. And he praised Arizona’s intrusive immigration law as a “model” for the nation. Hello? Latino vote?

Contraception. Romney attacked Santorum for reversing his stance on Title X, the federal family planning program, and proposed eliminating Title X funding. Hello? Women’s vote?

Labor. Romney reaffirmed his opposition to the auto bailout and railed against “labor stooges.” Hello? Union voters? In the crucial swing state of Ohio, 28 percent of voters come from households with a union member.

Assorted out-of-touch Rich Guy gaffes. “I like being able to fire people.” “I get speakers fees from time to time, but not very much.” (Not very much totaled $374,000.) “I have some great friends who are NASCAR team owners.” “Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs.” “Corporations are people, my friend.” Hello? Normal people?

Imagine the advertising possibilities. The anti-Romney activists waving their Etch A Sketches. (Etches A Sketch?)

And the new slogan for the Romney general election campaign: Shake It Up, Baby.

Washington Post Writers Group