ROBINS, Iowa — Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, spoke at a small fundraiser in a private home near Cedar Rapids Tuesday night. She spoke mostly about life with her husband, from the time they first met through today, emphasizing his steadiness, generosity, and integrity. But in a brief aside, Mrs. Romney also gave a rare inside-the-campaign view of the fact that this GOP presidential race has been dominated by high-profile debates.
“I thought Mitt did a great job at the last debate,” she said, referring to Saturday’s debate in Des Moines. “Now that we have that, we’re doing another debate. Like how many more debates are we going to do?”
“I guess the viewership was really high on the last one,” Romney continued. “I think it’s like watching reality TV now. I don’t know. They’re waiting for a car wreck.”
Many observers thought Mitt Romney had a car wreck, or at least a fender bender, Saturday night when he offered his now-famous $10,000 bet to Rick Perry over Perry’s characterization of Romney’s book. Romney himself conceded that it had been an error — and that his wife was not thrilled with the moment — when he said in New Hampshire, “After the debate was over, Ann came up and gave me a kiss. And she said, ‘there are a lot of things you do well. Betting isn’t one of them.'”
Romney, who has generally performed well in the Republican debates, has in the past defended the sessions. “I think the debates have been very helpful,” Romney told Fox News’ Sean Hannity last month. “Its been a good chance for people to get to know the candidates, to hear them speak on issues of significance and to get to know us personally to a certain degree. That’s always hard, a bunch of 60 second answers, but you do get a sense of the people running.”
