Big Bets Make Big News in US Presidential Campaign

While online poker regulation has gained a higher profile in American politics this year, it still hasn’t made much of an impact on the presidential campaign trail. Neither President Barack Obama nor (by and large) the candidates running for the Republican nomination have made online poker regulation part of their campaigns, and it seems unlikely that it will be an important issue in the race for the White House.

But this week, gambling has become an issue at the Republican debates – at least in one sense. On Saturday, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney challenged Texas governor Rick Perry to a $10,000 bet over the truth of a statement made by Perry. The “bet” concerned Perry’s claim that Romney had made revisions to a book he had written – No Apology – to remove a section that showed support for individual health insurance mandates.

In response, Democrats in Nevada decided to have a bit of fun over the controversy. The state Democratic Party send a box with $10,000 in mock poker chips to the Romney campaign office in Las Vegas – a “gift” designed to allow Romney to make his wager with Perry.

The prank was just one in a long line of moves by Romney’s opponents in both parties that have been designed to paint him as out of touch with common voters. In this case, the claim is that the size of Romney’s proposed bet was significantly more than most Americans could afford to make – in fact, more than most make in two months of work. Of course, among professional poker players, bets of this size – and much larger – are commonplace, but that’s more the exception than the rule among the general public.

Despite the gaffe and other attacks against Romney, he appears to be the favorite to ultimately walk away with the Republican presidential nomination and challenge President Obama in the 2012 elections. However, several other candidates are still running credible campaigns, including Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, and Perry, among others. The first vote in the Republican primary season will take place at the Iowa Caucuses, on January 3, 2012.