The DNC released another Etch-A-Sketch video designed to ensure Mitt Romney cannot “shake” the conservative positions he took in the GOP primary.

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“I think their assessment is that Romney is much less a threat to them as events are a threat to them, and I agree with that. Romney cannot beat Obama, only events can beat Obama.”

— James Carville, quoted by BuzzFeed, on whether the Obama campaign is worried about facing Mitt Romney in the general election.

Joe Klein thinks the Etch-A-Sketch gaffe “may go well beyond a momentary embarrassment and become a campaign-defining disaster, much as John Kerry’s ‘I voted for it before I voted against it’ gaffe — which came at almost exactly the same point in that campaign.

The key reason: “Most obviously, this was a classic Kinsleyan gaffe — an inadvertent blurting of the truth — that goes to the very heart of the character problems that have bedeviled Romney throughout this campaign.”

But more important: “It makes it much harder, perhaps impossible, for Romney to begin to tack back to the center to appeal to the centrist voters, an absolute necessity for the fall campaign after the free-range extremism of the Republican primary. Every time Romney makes a move, or even a head-fake, it becomes an Etch-a-Sketch moment.

“Even if Rick Santorum wallops Mitt Romney in Pennsylvania next month by winning every Republican vote on primary day, he’s unlikely to gain the crucial support of all the delegates he could get,” the Allentown Morning Call reports.

“The lack of an early organization has haunted Santorum all year. In state after state, whether he would have won or lost the popular vote, he hasn’t qualified for all the delegates available… But it’s particularly embarrassing for Santorum that in Pennsylvania, a state he represented in Congress for 16 years, he failed to utilize his connections to flush the ballots with old friends and supporters.”

A new Rasmussen survey in Louisiana shows Rick Santorum way ahead of Mitt Romney, 43% to 31%, followed by Newt Gingrich at 16% and Ron Paul at 5%.

The Louisiana primary is on Saturday.

The latest Economist/YouGov poll finds President Obama leading Mitt Romney among women by a whopping 17 points, 55% to 38%.

In contrast, Romney edges Obama among men by 45% to 43%.

Newt Gingrich told NPR that “he sees no reason to exit the Republican presidential race and that there’s a chance of a new contender emerging at the party’s convention in August.”

Said Gingrich: “I’m not so sure you wouldn’t get a series of brand new players.”

Also interesting: Gingrich admitted for the first time he was likely to finish third in the delegate race.

Sen. Dick Lugar’s (R-IN) residency problems “just grew more uncomfortable,” Politico reports: “He’s reimbursing the Treasury for erroneously billing taxpayers for a series of hotel stays in Indianapolis in recent years.”

“The long-serving Senate Republican said because of staff errors, taxpayer money was improperly used to pay for about $4,500 in hotel expenses over the past decade.”

First Read notes the feeding frenzy over the Etch-A-Sketch comments yesterday highlights a big problem for Mitt Romney:

“He gets almost no benefit of the doubt. Every gaffe becomes a story; every mistake become fodder for late-night comedians. And more importantly, this is what happens when you don’t have a solid base of support that can serve as a cocoon of protection during the toughest of times.”

“Successful presidential candidates (Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama) had grassroots supporters rushing to their defense, even in the toughest of political times. Romney — right now — doesn’t have this. In fact, it was notable during yesterday’s “Etch A Sketch” controversy that we didn’t see many prominent conservatives railing against media bias or unfairness. Instead, they were either standing on the sidelines or piling on. And that’s a problem for Romney.”

“I’m very much in favor of people recognizing that these high gasoline prices are probably here to stay.”

— Mitt Romney, quoted by the New Republic in 2006.

Jeb Bush told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that Mitt Romney should pick Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) as his running mate, calling him “dynamic, joyful, disciplined and principled.”

Said Bush: “He is the best orator of American politics today, a good family man. He is not only a consistent conservative, but he has managed to find a way to communicate a conservative message full of hope and optimism.”

A new Quinnipiac poll in Connecticut finds Linda McMahon (R) leading former Rep. Christopher Shays (R) in a Republican U.S. Senate primary, 51% to 42%.

However, Shays was stronger against the possible Democratic candidates, Rep. Christopher Murphy (D) and Susan Bysiewicz (D). Murphy leads the Democratic primary race, 37% to 25%.