It didn't take long for the Mitt Romney presidential campaign to follow up a solid primary win in Illinois with a spectacular gaffe on national television. 

Photo by Matt Ortega

When asked about whether Romney's alienated too many independents and moderates during the heated primary season, Romney senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom said on CNN the campaign would hit the "reset button" for the general. 

"Everything changes," he said. "It's almost like an Etch a Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and we start all over again.”

To be sure, this is the strategy people mostly assumed Romney would take all along. The primary would force relatively moderate Romney to swing right before courting independents when running against President Barack Obama. 

Still, Romney's Republican opponents have been quick to seize on the statement as evidence of Romney's willingness to flip-flop on the issues. 

“We all knew Mitt Romney didn’t have any core convictions, but we appreciate his staff going on national television to affirm that point for anyone who had any doubts,” said Rick Santorum spokesperson Hogan Gidley, according to the Wall Street Journal.  

The Obama campaign staff has not shied away, either. 

"Forget everything you know. Forget everything you've seen. Coming soon. Mitt 5.0!" tweeted Obama campaign chief David Axelrod.

Video, via Think Progress:

Photo from http://www.etchasketchmittromney.com/ by Matt Ortega. 

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