Only in America: The Etch a Sketch Boom
By Dr. Jeff Mirus ( bio - articles - email ) | Apr 02, 2012
Most people have heard by now of the Romney campaign’s Etch A Sketch gaffe. Asked whether Romney had shifted too far to the right to win in the primaries, chief aide Eric Fehrnstrom said: “You hit a reset button for the fall campaign. It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and we start all over again.” The ill-advised comparison fueled Republican fears that Mitt Romney, the king of the 180 degree turn, has no real convictions.
But this is America, right? So even a lack of principles can be turned to commercial use. According to the April 6th issue of The Week, since the incautious Etch A Sketch comparison, sales of the toy have gone up 2,000 percent on Amazon, and the stock price of its maker, Ohio Art Co., has more than doubled.
Jeffrey Mirus holds a Ph.D. in intellectual history from Princeton University. A co-founder of Christendom College, he also pioneered Catholic Internet services. He is the founder of Trinity Communications and CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.
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