The March 23 Daily Star (Page A4) has a fascinating article on Mitt Romney and a quote from his senior aide Eric Fehrnstrom: “Well, I think you hit a reset button for the full campaign. Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again.”

This when asked if Romney’s positions in the primaries isn’t too far right to win the election.

Etch A Sketch is then depicted as a classical American toy. The article in fact shows that it is not: it was invented in France. Much more to the point, this specific toy was mentioned years ago as one that was outsourced, costing many American jobs, with very small payback as the (much cheaper) version from China still had to be shipped and boxed.

I remember a fascinating statement made by one of the leading executives running a bid for a software system at a certain bank. This executive represented the bid of a company whose initials are not HAL. When questioned about what was being actually delivered as opposed to what was proposed in the winning bid, this individual said, “You’re confusing sell with install.”

Back to Mitt Romney and the Etch A Sketch. Those believing his apparent position now may be confusing sell with install. If the primary race is won, a reset button can be hit before the presidential campaign itself begins. Those believing that an Etch A Sketch is a fine American toy should realize it was “sold” in France and is “installed” in China.