Sounding good vs doing good

By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.
TriceEdneyWire.com Columnist

Mitt Romney sounded good in debate one, offering a few zingers as his team promised. He promised to do some good things. The problem is President Barack Obama has already done the good things Romney promised!

He often used the phrase “the President and I”—as he’s been doing on several key issues lately. After 90 minutes of trying to re-define himself as the moderate—something he claimed to be when running for governor of Massachusetts, but denied he was while trying to attract the right during his primary—I was not impressed.

He’s running away from all that he told us he was a few months back, and running toward what he told us he was not. How can we trust someone who once proudly claimed credit for Romneycare—the healthcare plan developed on his watch? During his primary he gave President Obama’s Affordable Care Act no credit, threatening to obliterate it on day one of his administration. In the debate, he suddenly loves many of the key parts of Obamacare—such as keeping young people on their parents’ health plan until they’re 26, keeping pre-existing conditions—and by November 6, I suspect he’ll be for the whole plan!

Who is the real Romney? He shifts his position on issues so often that it is difficult to know. He campaigned supporting a $5 trillion tax cut, but now, he denies it. In fact, he said, “Let me repeat what I said, I’m not in favor of a $5 trillion tax cut. That’s not my plan. My plan is not to put in place any tax cut that will add to the deficit”. He talked about closing loopholes in the tax code and getting rid of some tax deductions and credits. We don’t know what his plan is and he didn’t bother to tell us. I can see why many are confused about who the real Romney is.

Having been a speech teacher, I enjoy a spirited debate, but I do like one where speakers do not make up facts as they go along or change them when it’s convenient.

Some may be disappointed with the first debate, but it is understandable when you come to a debate knowing the opponent’s positions on issues, only to have him switch to yours. It doesn’t make sense to argue with someone who claims his positions are the same as yours.

Romney suddenly became interested in helping the Middle Class, but recently he said, “My job is not to worry about those people”. Do you remember his secret 47 percent speech to his wealthy friends? Many of us are in that 47 percent, so which Mitt are we to believe—the one who wants to help us or the one who will not worry about us?

Now he supports regulations, after wanting to get rid of them so “free people can pretty much do what they want to do.” He supports America, but takes his money overseas. He hates China, but has invested in China.

He began his campaign promising to change Medicare, then decided not to for those over 55. He leaves in place a gruesome policy for anyone who is younger.

After being shown that Obamacare doesn’t take $716 billion out of Medicare, he keeps saying it because truth doesn’t matter to him since he’s “had so much experience with his boys and that position”! Medicare’s chief actuary says President Obama’s health reform substantially improves the program’s finances.

Mitt sounded good in the debate, but how can you believe he would ever do good and for whom he would do the good? Doesn’t he just “make you want to holler and throw up your hands”?

This article was originally published in the October 15, 2012 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper