This is just a general observation, so please don't take it as an endorsement of Mitt Romney, or even a defense of him. The reaction to his "$10,000 bet" offer to Rick Perry has been just plain stupid:
The other longer-term danger for Romney in the $10,000 bet is that it reinforces a narrative already swirling in the political world: that his wealth makes him out of touch with the economic concerns of average folks.
Please. You don't get to this level in politics -- to the point where you're trying to add "president" to your resume -- by staying in touch with the common man. All of these people -- Barack Obama on the one side and all those who want to replace him on the other -- have been divorced from ordinary American life for a long time.
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I couldn't agree more. Of course Romney considers 10 grand to be pocket change, but I assume the "bet" was just a joke. Besides, I'm pretty sure Perry is right. Romney may be proposing the bet on some technicality regarding exactly when the book's reference to socialized medicine was altered, but it was, in fact, altered. Romney sounds Clintonian if he's splitting hairs over which printing contained the change. Unless Romney can come up with a satisfactory answer regarding his flip=flops - one that would let him be interviewed by a new outlet other than Fox - he's going to blow his candidacy. Is it just me, or has he gotten really testy and thin-skinned lately?