Do Words Speak Louder than Actions or Actions Louder than Words?

The world of politics is exploding over a secretly taped video of Mitt Romney back in May at a fundraising event when he made some questionable remarks about the 47% of Americans who don't pay income tax and why those individuals would never vote for Mitt Romney.

The world of journalism is doing their part to ensure that this explosion will be the implosion of one man's presidential hopes.

Image from Foxnews.com

The press is outraged.  The press is disgusted, but make no mistake about it, the press is really just celebrating.  They seem perfectly ready to end the election and declare that Mitt Romney is not fit to hold the office.  They want us to believe that Romney has revealed that he doesn't care about the poor and obviously wants to separate the "haves from the have nots."

Are they right?  Is the election over?  Is this the final blow?

Absolutely not.  Although for the moment, this election appears to be about this video, like it or not, the election is still about the economic security of our people and to be blunt, despite all the president has tried, the economic security in America still stinks.

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The press can shout about this tape, but the fact remains that this election will be about our broken economy and our president's failed attempts to make things better.

I have no problem with the press holding a leader accountable for their words, but it seems a little disingenuous when they are not equally as determined to hold the president accountable for his actions.

Image from nytimes.com

Last night, our president appeared on David Letterman.  There was of course, talk of this Mitt Romney recording.  President Obama in his calming and reassuring way said,

"What I've learned as president is that you represent the entire country. If you want to be president, you've got to work for everyone and not just some.  You've got to be president to all the people."

Hmm.  That sounds really nice.  I think I even got a chill up my leg.

Problem?  Obama's actions as president have not reflected that sentiment.  In fact, this country feels more divided than ever and our president has been at the center of it.

Actions speak louder than words:

Religion
I for one, am a person of faith.  I strongly believe and defend our first amendment right which respects religious freedom and prohibits our government from making laws impeding the free exercise of it.

When the president made changes to the Affordable Care Act requiring non-profit organizations, including Catholic institutions to pay for birth control, contraceptives, morning after pills and abortions, even though such a requirement goes against their moral convictions, Obama brazenly pushed it through and instead made "amendments" which changed the wording but not the requirement.

Mr. President, your actions with this ruling did not represent me or millions of other people of faith.


Debt
I am also an American who firmly believes in moral spending limits.  Like many conservatives, I believe it is immoral to spend more money than we have.

Mr. President, I have watched you add $5 trillion dollars to our deficit in 3 1/2 years---more debt than any administration combined. A $16 trillion debt is reckless, irresponsible and as you once said, "unpatriotic."

With regards to spending and debt, your actions have not represented me or millions of conservatives who share my convictions.  


Free Enterprise
I am an American who believes that free enterprise works.  I believe that American businesses are at the heart of a thriving economy.  I believe that high taxes, government restrictions and impositions are hindering business growth and potential.  I am an American who is freaked out that 2011 saw the slowest start up rate for new businesses in 11 years.

Mr. President, when you say things like "You didn't build that," it didn't feel like you were representing me or the millions of Americans who disagree with your idea that success should not be rewarded.


Health Care Reform
I am an American who still does not want Obamacare.  I am one of the millions of Americans who opposed such an expensive, intrusive and unproven overhaul of our health care system.  I am one of the 65% of Americans who did not support this reform. (Remember, only 35% of Americans supported this legislation at the time it passed).

Mr. President, when you resorted to bribes and back room deals to get the votes needed to pass your signature piece of legislation, it did not feel like you represented me or the millions who disagreed with Obamacare.  When this bill passed without one Republican vote, it should have concerned you that its content did not represent half of the country.

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Although there is widespread panic over Mitt Romney's remarks, it feels disingenuous.  It feels orchestrated.  It feels insincere.

Sadly, the press is more eager to hold Mitt Romney accountable for his words than they are willing to hold our president accountable for his actions.  We should not stand for it.

President Obama has been in office for nearly 4 years.  He vowed to improve everything--including the ocean tides and even the planet.  He promised to fix the economy.  He assured us that he would and he spent trillions to show that he could.  Well, 50 days before his re-election, it is hard to argue that any of his attempts have worked.

- 23 million people are still out of work.

- 1 in 6 Americans are now living in poverty.

- Nearly 50 million Americans are on food stamps.

- Millions of our neighbors are still losing their homes.

- Our country is still facing a fiscal cliff.

The president may say that he is the president for the all the people and say that he wants to help us all, but his actions speak louder than words.  He has never attempted to represent all of us and his efforts certainly have not helped enough of us.

Image from politico.com

Do Mitt Romney's words speak for his future actions?  Why shouldn't the president's actions speak louder than his words?

I am not buying it.  We are hurting.  We need help.  The president has miserably failed to help us.

We need to hold him accountable for it.

Go Mitt.