As soon as the following exchange took place in last night’s Republican debate, the intertubes erupted with mockery and loud predictions that Willard Mitt Romney had dug his own grave and killed his campaign.
RICK PERRY: I’m– I’m– (THROAT CLEARING) I’m listenin’ to you, Mitt, and I’m hearin’ 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. And I know it came out of– of the– the reprint of the book. But, you know, I’m just sayin’, you were for individual mandates, my friend.
MITT ROMNEY: You know what? You’ve raised that before, Rick. And– you’re simply wrong.
RICK PERRY: It– it– it was true then. (CHUCKLE) It’s true now.
MITT ROMNEY: That– now, this– Rick, I’ll– I’ll tell you what. (CHUCKLE) 10,000 bucks– (APPLAUSE) $10,000 bet?
RICK PERRY: I’m not in the bettin’ business, but, okay.
Not captured in the transcript is the fact that the audience was beginning to boo Rick Perry for being a dick before Romney said anything in response. The transcript does capture the applause when Romney offered up a ten thousand dollar wager to back up his argument that Perry was distorting his record.
This exchange may actually hurt Romney. But, if it does, it will only be because it is treated like an ‘aaaargh’ moment by the press and played in an infinite loop to prove that Romney is out of touch with regular voters. Who, after all, has ten grand to blow on a casual bet?
But let’s pause for a moment to reflect. Romney isn’t running in a general election. He’s running in a Republican nominating contest. And the entire rationale for his campaign is that he is a rich motherfucker who knows how to get shit done. Need proof? Here’s the first thing Romney said last night:
MITT ROMNEY: Well, having spent my life in the private sector, I understand where jobs are created. They’re not created in government, they’re not created in Washington. They’re created on Main Streets and streets all over America. And to help make America the most attractive place in the world for investment, for new enterprise, for entrepreneurs and for job growth, there’s seven things you have to do. There’s not just one, there’s seven…
People aren’t going to vote for Romney because they want to have a beer with him. He doesn’t drink beer. They won’t vote for him because he’s the most conservative or principled candidate. He is probably the biggest flip-flopper in the history of electoral politics. They’ll vote for him for the same reason that Donald Trump was briefly at the top of the polls. They’ll vote for him because he’s the kind of guy who can light his fondue with c-notes and not even flinch. He’s filthy rich, and that’s why people are attracted to him.
We’re talking about the Republican base here. Their heroes are all CEO’s. They reflexively defend bankers against accountability and corporations against regulations. When John McCain couldn’t remember how many houses he owned, they thought he was cool. When Bush said his base was the have-mores, they convinced themselves that they would one day be part of Bush’s base.
It didn’t hurt Romney that he bet $10,000 in the debate last night. It was an applause line.
However, the press and the other candidates and the Democrats may succeed in turning it into a liability. But it has to be turned into that, because, in itself, it didn’t hurt him at all. Quite the opposite.
