Whether it was sarcastic, a heat of the moment gesture or “putting your money where your mouth is,” Mitt Romney offering a $10,000 bet on stage to Rick Perry in regards to the Texas Governor’sfrequent claim that Romney has been inconsistent on his position on the individual health insurance mandate, was met with strong reactions from debate viewers. Here’s a Mediate clip of the exchange from Saturday night’s GOP debate in Iowa:
“Perry: I’m hearing you say all the right things. But I read your first book and it said in there that your mandate in Massachusetts, which should be the model for the country — I know it came out of the reprint of the book, but, you know, I’m just saying, you were for individual mandates, my friend.Romney: You know what, you’ve raised that before, Rick. and you’re wrong.Perry: It was true then, it’s true nowRomney: Rick, I’ll tell you what, 10,000 bucks, $10,000 bet.Perry: I’m not in the betting business.”
Many have commented that nonchalantly making a $10,000 bet on stage, does not help the millionaire Romney in his constant struggle to appeal to voters as “just another everyday Joe.”
Former Obama White House aide Bill Burton responded to Romney’s bet on Twitter writing that “Not a lot of 99%’ers are out there making $10,000 bets.” The L.A. Times reports that the Democratic National Committee quickly fired off a mass email Saturday night titled “What the Average American Family Can Buy With $10,000.”
Romney responded to Perry’s claim, following the betting business, by elaborating that his book says each state should be able to design its own system for its citizens.
“I have not said in that book, first edition or the latest edition, anything about our plan being a national model imposed on the nation,” Romney added.
CBS News reports that the Perry campaign emailed reporters soon after the exchange with a release headlined “Romney deletes his own words from his book.” An attack the Perry Campaign has used against Romney in the past.
