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In politics, a gaffe is often described as a "truth told by accident." Mitt Romney has had relatively few of them during his time in politics, but when the former governor of Massachusetts commits one, it can be a doozy – and a distraction. Here’s a list of the most memorable.
Republican presidential candidates former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry speak during a Republican presidential debate in October, in Las Vegas. (Chris Carlson/AP)
4. The $10,000 bet
At the Republican presidential debate in Des Moines, Iowa, on Dec. 10, Romney turned to Texas Gov. Perry and bet him $10,000 that Romney’s first book did not suggest the Massachusetts health care reform was a model for the nation, as Perry claimed.
But the subject of the bet doesn’t matter. It’s the size of the bet. Who has $10,000 to risk on a bet? A wealthy former businessman like Romney, that’s who. Most of Romney’s opponents for the Republican nomination, as well as Democrats, mocked him for looking like an out-of-touch rich man who doesn’t get that the vast majority of Americans can’t afford to risk $10,000.
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