Republican Mitt Romney took the White House race into uncharted waters Thursday, suggesting he would like to challenge President Barack Obama to a bit of waterskiing. “I don’t think I’ll play the president a round of golf but I’ll be happy to take him through a waterski course,” the presumptive presidential nominee said on Fox News when asked whether he was as “hip” as the commander-in-chief. “We have different skills and different interests and different hobbies,” said the former Massachusetts governor and multimillionaire venture capitalist. The comments were the latest in a series of tone-deaf remarks made by Romney in which his cheery honesty has only pushed his immense wealth further into the spotlight, leading some to question if he can relate to everyday Americans. During a televised presidential debate in December, he challenged rival Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, to a “$10,000 bet” to settle a dispute over Romney’s position on health care reform. In February in Michigan, he spoke of his wife driving “a couple of Cadillacs,” and then told a reporter at NASCAR’s Daytona 500 race that he has “some great friends who are NASCAR team owners.” Romney has consistently insisted that the state of the economy and its wobbly recovery is the main issue of the 2012 campaign. But his deep pockets have become an issue at a time when millions of American families are struggling. Obama last week branded Romney a corporate raider who outsourced American jobs overseas and piled up cash in offshore havens and a Swiss bank account.
