Mitt Romney thinks it's silly to focus on which words a candidate does and does not say in a convention speech -- unless that candidate is President Barack Obama.
In an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" that aired Sunday, Romney defended himself from criticism that he didn't talk about the war in Afghanistan at all during his Republican National Convention speech. He is the first GOP presidential candidate since 1952 to not mention war when accepting his party's nomination.
From his "Meet the Press" interview (emphasis added):
I went to the American Legion and spoke with our veterans there and described my policy as it relates to Afghanistan and other foreign policy and our military. I've been to Afghanistan and the members of our troops know of my commitment to Afghanistan and to the effort that's going on there. I have some differences on policy with the president. I happen to think those are more important than what word I mention in each speech.
Romney, it should be noted, also did not talk about his foreign policy differences with the president during his speech.
But during a campaign event in Ohio on Monday, Romney hit the president for not mentioning "unemployment" at the Democratic National Convention last week.
"I was surprised that in the president's speech at the Democratic convention," Romney said. "He didn't mention unemployment."
While Obama didn't say that exact word during his speech, he did talk about the millions of Americans out of work:
And when the house of cards collapsed in the Great Recession, millions of innocent Americans lost their jobs, their homes, their life savings, a tragedy from which we are still fighting to recover. ...
And that means I know what it means to send young Americans into battle, for I have held in my arms the mothers and fathers of those who didn't return. I've shared the pain of families who've lost their homes, and the frustration of workers who’ve lost their jobs.
Luke Johnson contributed reporting.
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