Free Republic

As tweeters, bloggers and commenters worldwide asked each other what $10,000 buys, Mitt Romney’s campaign insisted that the candidate’s bet was not a gaffe.

He could have bet a beer. Or maybe a steak dinner. But during a heated dispute with Rick Perry during Saturday night's debate in Des Moines, Iowa, Mitt Romney extended his right hand and asked the Texas governor if he'd wager $10,000 to settle a dispute over his healthcare record. The rich bet instantly provided Romney's opponents with new ammunition for their charge that he's out of touch with middle-class America.

Mitt Romney stuck out his hand and challenged Rick Perry to a $10,000 bet at a Republican presidential debate Saturday night, prompting Perry to decline because he is "not in the betting business." At issue was Perry's claim that he read in Romney's book "No Apology" that the individual health care mandate Romney signed into law as Massachusetts governor "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." That seemed to anger Romney, who responded, "you know what,...