By Amber Qalagari
Columnist

Read the other side of the argument here.

Mitt Romney has been under the speculation of every media outlet this past week after his “47 percent” comment. MotherJones.com, a leftist website, posted a “secret” video of the presidential candidate at a fundraising dinner in which he discussed his strategy for winning over swing voters. After the video was published, news outlets quoted Romney in regards to the 47 percent of Obama supporting Americans saying, “my job is to not worry about them.” Was that a misrepresentation of the candidate by partisan media or does Romney really not care about half of America?

If you watch the video, it is clear that the quote is taken out of context. What Romney was referring to was the group of Obama supporters whose votes he could never win. The same supporters who are dependent on government handouts such as welfare and who Romney claims “do not pay their income taxes.” There has been much debate between both sides on whether this claim is in fact true. According to an analysis of IRS data by the Tax Policy Center, Romney’s numbers are accurate. Forty-seven percent of Americans do not pay income taxes.

What does all of this mean for Romney in light of the election? Voters that base their decisions on the media snippets they see will turn away from Romney because they believe he does not care about the people. The informed population that base their opinions on facts rather then what is spoon fed to them by partisan news can see the inaccuracy of the media claims.

This is the same man that is seeking to create new jobs in a time of skyrocketing unemployment, reform (not eliminate, like the media wants you to believe) our failing health care and reduce the 16 trillion dollar deficit that is leading America to its economic demise. If creating jobs and lowering the debt means Romney does not care for 47 percent of Americans, then by all means, have him not care for 100 percent of us!

Headlines are predicting a decline in Romney supporters, but if MSNBC spoke to anyone who was not a flaming liberal, they may see that this is not necessarily the case. After watching the video, I gained not only more respect for him as a person, but more faith in him as a president. His campaigns are not about throwing out shallow phrases like let’s bring “hope” and “change” without saying how to achieve that; he states the problems in America and offers a solution to fix them. Saying Romney does not care about half of America is like saying Romney is poor; we all know that is not the case.

How does the media interpret Romney’s practicality to equal a disregard of half of American citizens? I would think having a “kill list” of Americans, like the current president, would warrant the question of “caring” more than Romney’s political strategy. This video is another media ploy designed to take the spotlight off of where Obama has failed Americans, and put it on Romney. It seems to me that there are more important percentages the media should be reporting, such as the 8.3 percent unemployment rate, and the thousands of people who quit searching for work under the Obama administration.