Has Romney's "etch-a-sketch" moment finally arrived?

For the last couple of months, it looked to me like Romney was not going to employ the much-anticipated etch-a-sketch in any attempt to appeal to independent voters. But today I'm wondering whether or not he's possibly employing a two-pronged strategy including not only a full-throttle Southern Strategy but also an attempt to limit the damage his campaign has done to his support from women.

As an example, take a look at his interview this morning with Fox's Chris Wallace.



If you're like me and have trouble getting through 3 minutes of Mitt's mendacity, here are some highlights.

Well, first of all, with regards to women's health care, look, I'm the guy that was able to get health care for all of the women and men in my state. They're just talking about it at the federal level...

And then with regards to contraceptives, of course, Republicans, and myself in particular, recognize that people should have a right to use contraceptives. There's absolutely no validity whatsoever to the Obama effort to try and bring that up...

And with regards to the issue of abortion, that is something where men and women have alternative views on that or different views. We look at an issue like that with great seriousness and sobriety and recognize that different people have reached different conclusions. But it's not just men who think one way. Women also, in many cases, are pro-life. There are two lives at stake, the child, the unborn child, and the mom. And I care for both of them.

So not only is he touting Romneycare for the first time in the campaign, he's trying to sound supportive of contraception and gone all fuzzy on the issue of abortion.

And then later today, Romney talked to CBS's Scott Pelley.



Here's what he said.

My position has been clear throughout this campaign. I'm in favor of abortion being legal in the case of rape and incest and the health and life of the mother. But recognize, this is the decision that will be made by the Supreme Court. The Democrats try and make this a political issue every four years, but this is a matter in the courts. It's been settled for some time in the courts.

Whoah there nellie...did he just say that Roe v Wade is a settled matter in the courts?

I'm sure you'd join me in finding all kinds of crap from Romney in both of these interviews. But that wasn't my point in writing about this. I'm flying up high to look at the big picture and wondering if maybe we're seeing a shift in this campaign's strategy. Who knows - perhaps his etch-a-sketch moment has finally arrived.

If that's the case, this latest ad from the Obama campaign is not only entertaining, its prescient.