DNC not letting go of Romney's $10K `bet'

Updated 11:13 a.m. Eastern Time

In its latest attempt to embarrass Mitt Romney over his $10,000 bet line at Saturday's GOP debate, the Democratic National Committee is hiring an airplane to circle over New York and New Jersey on Wednesday with a 175-foot sign that reads: "Bet you 10k Romney's Out of Touch." Romney has several fundraisers planned in the New York area.

But how much will such a stunt cost? Around seven times less than Romney's bet total, DNC spokesman Michael Czin said.

The DNC is trying an additional embarrassment tactic: trumpeting tea party favorite Christine O'Donnell's endorsement of Romney on Tuesday less than half an hour after Romney's campaign announced it. O'Donnell became the subject of national ridicule in last year's Delaware Senate race after she acknowledged that she once "dabbled in witchcraft" and made other well-publicized gaffes.

The Romney campaign responded that "[t]he White House is so scared at the prospect of facing Mitt Romney in the general election, they are going to great lengths to try and tear him down."

"The last thing President Obama wants to do is run against a conservative businessman who has worked in the real economy and have to explain why his policies have been unable to get millions of Americans back to work," said Romney Spokesperson Andrea Saul. "On the other hand, if Newt Gingrich is our party's nominee, then the choice in next year's election will be between two Washington insiders with no experience in the real world of job creation."