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Romney’s Losing Bet
It’s no secret to women that men can have some pretty annoying traits. And to be perfectly honest, it’s really no secret to men either, although it’s tough to get us to take ownership of them.
When Mitt Romney, in the December 10th Republican debate, shoved out his hand toward Rick Perry and with that icy smile of his said, “I’ll bet you ten thousand dollars,” he did his version of the cock of the walk, and in so doing, I believe, shot himself in the foot.
While Romney would never admit to it now, his body language and his tone was that of a bully. And in bad economic times a bully of the worst kind, one who uses his great personal wealth to bully others. One day later he was papering over his petulant taunt by saying, “It’s like when two buddies bet each other a million bucks, it’s not meant seriously.” Anyone watching Romney during that debate knows that cover up is a lie.
For the average American to make $10,000 takes approximately three months. Not a dollar amount a sane member of the “99 percent” is going to wager. The very act of betting that amount casts Romney as out-of-touch with the average voter. People can overlook a candidate having much greater wealth, but they don’t like to have that fact shoved in their face or the face of an opponent.
Men, are particularly uncomfortable with a rich male throwing down the money card. From a gut standpoint they would have been more comfortable if Romney had taken off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and threatened to punch Rick Perry in that square jaw of his. (That might have helped Romney’s poll numbers get beyond 25%.)
But the average guy is always looking for a level playing field and when Romney throws around money by wagering “ten thousand bucks,” it emasculates the 99% of men out there who don’t have anywhere near that kind of money to wave in another man’s face.
So in male speak, Romney becomes the worst kind of man to other men; one who is willing to use his great wealth (estimated at well over $200 million) to taunt other men. It’s the fiscal equivalent of a man with 22-inch biceps telling another man, “How would you like me to pick you up and shake you like a rag doll?”
But interestingly enough, the wealth bully is even more intimidating to men because it reminds them that they are not as successful as they had hoped and now their under the thumb of men who are far richer than they could ever hope to be.
As for women, they find this behavior equally obnoxious but in a different way. Women, as a general rule, are turned off by men playing the cock of the walk. Boys bullying boys, pushing, shoving, grunting, is something women have witnessed their whole lives and it leaves them feeling no empathy with the bully.
Small acts make a big difference in campaigns. In 1992, President Bush senior in a debate with Bill Clinton famously looked at his watch, something that said to the average voter, “I have more important things to do than come before you and defend my performance as president.” Rick Lazio in his 2000 New York Senate race against Hillary Clinton walked over and put his arm over Hillary during their debate in a manner that appeared to be physically intimidating. It was the beginning of the end of his campaign.
I’m guessing that Mitt’s wager will be replayed a thousand and one times. Rick Perry has already used the clip in an ad to attack him and the Jon Huntsman campaign bought the web address 10Kbet.com (http://www NULL.10kbet NULL.com/), before Saturday’s debate had ended. Given the money that Romney has poured into his campaign, that $10,000 bet might end up costing him millions.
Martin Brown is the Heath Channel Editor for SingleMindedWomen.com, and co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Finding Mr. Right. (http://www NULL.amazon NULL.com/gp/product/1592578950?ie=UTF8&tag=sinminwom-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1592578950)
His latest book is Fit in 50 Days. (http://www NULL.barnesandnoble NULL.com/w/fit-in-50-days-martin-brown/1031511170?ean=2940013595972&itm=1&usri=fit%2bin%2b50%2bdayshttp://www NULL.barnesandnoble NULL.com/w/fit-in-50-days-martin-brown/1031511170?ean=2940013595972&itm=1&usri=fit%2bin%2b50%2bdays)
More SMW Dieting Tips
Are You a Nibbler? Curbing Empty Calories
Dieting With the Support of Online Girlfriends
Staying Motivated with Buddy Workouts
Win a Year’s Worth of Groceries for Your Recipe!
Four lucky home cooks will win a year’s worth of groceries by submitting an original recipe using a Hungry Jack product in any of the following categories: Brunch, Comfort Foods, Appetizers, and Sweet Treats. The makers of Hungry Jack® Pancake Mix, Syrup and Potatoes have teamed up with Kelsey Nixon, star of Cooking Channel’s “Kelsey’s Essentials,” in the third annual Hungry Jack Use Up the Box Recipe Contest.
For inspiration, Chef Kelsey has used Hungry Jack staples to create the following delicious dishes:
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Bites –Hungry Jack Pancake Mix is the secret behind these moist, sweet treats featuring the irresistible combination of chocolate and peanut butter.
- BBQ Meatballs – Add a kick to hearty meatballs made with Hungry Jack Instant Mashed Potatoes with a tangy homemade BBQ sauce.
- Flaky Fried Fish Tacos – These crispy, zesty tacos can be made at home with Hungry Jack Potatoes.
Complete recipes can be seen here.
The Hungry Jack Use Up the Box Recipe Contest ends November 2, 2011. One recipe in each of the four categories will be named a Grand Prize Winner and will receive a year’s worth of groceries (awarded as a check for $6,000). For complete details and official rules visit www.useupthebox.com (http://www NULL.useupthebox NULL.com/).
Sneak Preview! Seeking Happily Ever After, the Documentary
If, like us, you’re tired of all the BS that the media purports about single women, the documentary Seeking Happily Ever After (http://www NULL.seekinghappilyeverafter NULL.com/index NULL.html) is a refreshing and insightful film as to the way we women live now.
Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the New York United Film Festival, and nominated for Best Documentary at the Action on Film Festival (where director/producer Michelle Cove was also nominated for Best Female Filmmaker), Seeking Happily Ever After doesn’t pull punches. The interview subjects will make you laugh, and cry, and think about what you really want out of life.
In other words, they tell it like it is.
Catch the first 20 minutes for free!
Click here, and you can watch right now, on iTunes ( http://itunes NULL.apple NULL.com/us/podcast/sneak-peek-seeking-happily/id466237423).
Or Just enter “Sneak Peek: Seeking Happily Ever After”
into the iTunes store search field.
Enter the Coffee Talk Game Giveaway!
You and your peeps no longer need to cram yourself around one of those tiny Starbucks tables to get your fill of great conversation. Just open Coffee Talk (http://www NULL.coffeetalkgame NULL.com), the latest and greatest game from Pressman Toys, and let the fun begin.
Coffee Talk, a new entry to the rapidly growing world of board games is two or more hours of fun for you and one, two, or more of your gal pals. And unlike that popular hot elixir, Coffee Talk, is even more fun when accompanied by a nice bottle of wine.
With 300 topics, players are challenged to write down instantly what comes to mind when a topic like, say, “Las Vegas,” pops up. Players get points for every unique answer that comes to mind in the allotted 45-seconds (timer provided in game pack). In the case of Vegas, for example, those answers might be “NewYork, New York,” or “The Strip.”
But points only go to answers that no other player has written down and that are accepted by other players as related to the topic.
Like all great games it starts simple. But then there are a lot of twists and turns, aided by the use of appropriately named wild cards like “Sugar Packets”, “Creamers”, and “Instant Coffee”.
You might even find yourself getting “Freeze Dried,” when you can’t come up with anything else to say about a chosen topic.
When members of the SMW staff were invited to play the game, the first thing that we all loved was the wildly inventive packaging. Wrapped in the guise of a one pound bag of premium coffee beans, you can’t help but smile when you hold it in your hand.
Another cool feature: the 300 topics, and 15 instant coffee cards, stay inside the packaging bag, which now serves as a sealed shaker to assure the next topic will be a surprise to all. (No peeking, please!) This element of quick surprise adds to the fun as well.
After two hours of laughs, you will be pleasantly surprised to find out how much you really know (or forgot) about topics ranging from Charlie Brown to Jay Leno.
One staffer summed up the experience of the game perfectly: “I love games that encourage great conversation. But Coffee Talk offered the added advantage of mixing a little bit of speed, a little bit of trivia. Seriously, we laughed all night long.”
The game can be purchased at Toys “R” Us, or Amazon.com.
To help warm up you and your friends on long winter nights to come (or extend your summer fun), SMW is offering you a chance to win one of six Coffee Talk games free! Winning entries will be chosen from emails to SMWContests@gmail.com received by Friday, October 23, 2011, Midnight PT, with the subject line: I Love Coffee Talk
Good luck!
Sex & the Single Woman: Commitment
We all know about commitment: agreeing to be with someone for the unforeseeable future. Dedicating ourselves to the unknown, even at the risk of failure. Relationships are about being brave enough to take that plunge.
Once or twice I’ve been faced with a very different kind of commitment: the commitment to being just friends.
I’m not shy about discussing my fear of burning bridges and my general desire to stay friends with those I have dated. There are times, however, I have found that it’s not so easy to keep things platonic. The memory is a strong muscle and it’s easy for us to get tempted to relive what once was.
I once I had a very lax attitude about this, trusting that a strong friendship with a guy would be strong enough to overcome any slip up we might have. As time passed, I came to realize that while we overcame a lot, things might not always be that easy. Being casual about our friendship could end it. And that definitely wasn’t worth it.
It was a battle, but not allowing myself to act anyway but completely platonic eventually did the trick. We established an unsaid boundary and, I’m happy to say, seem closer than ever.
How’s that for commitment?
–Maggie
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