Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
Diane Ellis ·
March 23, 2012 at 3:32am
Oh my. This is one way to turn the gift to the Santorum campaign that was Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom's Etch-A-Sketch blunder into a serious liability.
The way this is going to play? All you need to do is take a look at the headlines:
FOX Nation—Santorum: Obama Preferable to Romney
Los Angeles Times—Santorum suggests Obama preferable to "Etch-a-Sketch" Romney
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Comments:
Mar '11
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
To judge by the comments on Ricochet, Santorum shares his preference for Obama with a good portion of the Republican base.
How else to explain all the hardcores who would rather stay at home in November than vote for Romney?
Dec '10
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
Diane,
Although Romney is the Etch-a-Sketch candidate, Obama is more that psychic eight ball thing. You remember (how old are you Diane?) it was filled with some dense liquid and had a little window where you would hold it upright and a vague omni-referrential answer would float up giving you the impression that the eight ball knew something about your question when it was just full of....
Regards,
Jim
May '10
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
This is Santorum overplaying his hand. It gives Romney the opportunity (which he siezed tonight on Hugh Hewitt) to accuse Rick of putting himself above the greater good -- which, well, he is. Too bad.
Aug '10
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
Well, it looks like it's back to lobbying for Ricky after the campaign - he just blew any chance of a cabinet post in the Romney administration.
I warned him to cool it but he just can't help himself!
May '10
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
Self-absorbed campaign managers have been with us since forever. The most famous relatively recent example, other than Steve Schneider in 2008, was Ed Rollins and his "walking around money" interview of 1993.
For some reason, people like Rollins and Eric Fehrnstrom think it is about them. I wish Romney would exercise his "I like to fire people" instinct right about now.
Oct '11
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
Rick Santorum: sore loser.
Apr '11
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
I don't know about the campaign, but Santorum has lost his mind.
Dec '10
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
Here is Mitt Romney, quoted in the LA Times piece linked above.
"I am in this race to defeat Barack Obama and restore America's promise. I was disappointed to hear that Rick Santorum would rather have Barack Obama as president than a Republican. This election is more important than any one person. It is about the future of America. Any of the Republicans running would be better than President Obama and his record of failure."
Santorum might well agree with that last sentence - any of the REPUBLICANS running would be better than President Obama and his record of failure. Where Santorum would disagree is that he said anything about Obama being preferable to a Republican, only for Obama being about the same as the Etch-A-Sketch candidate.
Oct '10
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
Look for the definition of the word "Romney Derangement Syndrome."
Edited on March 23, 2012 at 5:44amJun '10
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
Santorum: "I'll call your campaign manager's gaffe, and raise you two of my own." Really dumb.
Oct '11
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
Mendel: To judge by the comments on Ricochet, Santorum shares his preference for Obama with a good portion of the Republican base.
How else to explain all the hardcores who would rather stay at home in November than vote for Romney?
That's the over-the-top sore winner kind of thing that turns us Romno-skeptics even further off. I've seen plenty of comments here that predict many right of center indys would stay home in November rather than vote for the Inevitable One Who Can't Even Close the Deal Among the Right, and I rather think they're (ok, we're) correct. But prefer Obama? That's getting gratuitously nasty.
I can count the number of Ricochetiers I've read to say they themselves will do so on the visible fingers of one bandaged hand. (Cut myself playing with the Etch-A-Sketch. Don't ask.)
But regarding Santorum. I've continually expressed a preference for him over Mitt and a belief that he'd do better in the general. I've come to think I was wrong on both counts. The man thinks a little too highly of himself and those beliefs for my trust.
Sep '10
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
Santorum missed a great opportunity to just shut up and let Romney deal with the mess.
Jun '10
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
One of the tests is, can you endure the stress of campaigning fourteen or fifteen hours a day, and still keep everything in perspective? Santorum flunked today's test. I think he should admit that he went too far, and apologize to Romney. I know Romney's negative advertising gets under Santorum's skin, but presidents need to have the patience of Job. They'll endure a lot worse than that. Gingrich fails on that score too.
Mar '11
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
Mr. Fehrnstrom is briefly and refreshingly honest about Romney's campaign, yet apparently those who do not cling to some delusion of what he is and how he will actually govern are the mad ones.
No wonder politicians so often lie to their constituents when so often voters embrace lying to themselves.
Edited on March 23, 2012 at 4:37amMay '11
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
This stunt by Santorum is utter foolishness, plays right into the media's hands of avoiding the big issues that hurt Obama. I feel palpable anger watching this childish display. Country is going down the drain and he's playing with toys, just pathetic.
Santorum is going to win LA and give one of his insufferable breathless crusader victory speeches and stay in the race. This is excruciating. I think I'll just tune out until Romney is the official nominee.
Edited on March 23, 2012 at 4:37amOct '10
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
From Glenn Reynolds:
I wish Andrew Breitbart was still around
Dec '10
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
Funny that Santorum's words are seen as some kind of gaffe... Goldwater said the exact same thing in 1964 when he said the Republican Party should offer Americans "a choice, not an echo."
Apr '11
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
Stuart Creque
Funny that Santorum's words are seen as some kind of gaffe... Goldwater said the exact same thing in 1964 when he said the Republican Party should offer Americans "a choice, not an echo." · 0 minutes ago
Had Republicans just chosen an echo in 1964, we might not have to deal with runaway entitlement spending bankrupting us to anything like the present degree, nor the demographic disaster imposed upon us by the 1965 immigration act.
Mar '11
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
Barfly
That's the over-the-top sore winner kind of thing that turns us Romno-skeptics even further off. I've seen plenty of comments here that predict many right of center indys would stay home in November rather than vote for the Inevitable One Who Can't Even Close the Deal Among the Right, and I rather think they're (ok, we're) correct. But prefer Obama? That's getting gratuitously nasty.
First off, I'm most certainly not a Mittohead, although I do find him the least abhorent of the field.
And second, there has been many a comment on this site loudly proclaiming that said commenter will never vote for Romney. Perhaps they are bluffing, but conservatives who stay at home during the general election deny Romney (half) a vote, which is preference toward Obama in deed if not thought.
Sitting out an election may occasionally be justifiable, but let's be clear on the implications.
Edited on March 23, 2012 at 5:03amMay '10
Re: Santorum: Obama Preferable to Etch-A-Sketch Candidate
The frog is boiling. Obama turned the heat up, so the frog noticed. Now we can turn the heat off or turn it down just enough that the frog returns to complacency.
In a nutshell (or a crock pot), that's the argument for not voting. If we are not going to resist the tyrannical expansion of government authority which has been advancing for a century, then it is better that the expansion continues at Obama's pace, rather than Romney's, so that citizens do not return to complacency and at least realize they are being cooked. A somnambulent citizenry will continue to vote itself right into East Germany.
That said, even a person who believes Romney is a managerial progressive and that he will not stop the expansion of government might instead choose to roll the dice (vote for Romney and hope to be wrong about him).
The choice boils down to faith in America's future. Is there time left to turn around? If not, your children and grandchildren might be better off if the American Experiment ends sooner rather than later.
I'm willing to gamble on Romney. I won't gamble again.