Confucius often tells us to stand by our words, to make sure that our actions fulfill our words.

The Master said: "If you’re grave and thoughtful, people look to you with the veneration due a noble.  And if you’re learned, too, you’re never inflexible.
"Above all else, be loyal and stand by your words.  Never befriend those who are not kindred spirits.  And when you’re wrong, don’t be afraid to change." (Analects, 1.8)

Adept Hsia asked about the noble-minded, and the Master said: "Such people act before they speak, then they speak according to their actions." (2.13)

The Master said: "The ancients spoke little.  They were too ashamed when their actions fell short of their words." (4.22)

The Master said: "That is what the noble-minded aspire to: slow to speak and quick to act." (4.24).

    This is especially important for high-profile political leaders.  If you do not live up to what you say, no one will believe you.  Nowhere is this better demonstrated than here:

Bush Is Losing Credibility On Democracy, Activists Say
Governments Appear Quicker to Challenge U.S. Rebukes

By

Sunday, June 10, 2007;  Page A19

President Bush waxed eloquent about democracy in Prague’s majestic Czernin Palace last week, pledging to the assembled dissidents from 17 countries that the United States
"will never excuse your oppressors" and, "We will always stand for your
freedom." It was the centerpiece speech of his European tour.

But
the scorecard for the Bush administration, four years after it began
promoting democracy as the key to the United States’ long-term
security, shows it striking out, according to analysts and activists
who originally endorsed the president’s efforts. Democracy regression
is visible from Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela, a country that was the first democracy in Latin America, to Vladimir Putin’s Russia, where the Soviet demise triggered political changes worldwide 15 years ago.

…

"It was a very good speech, in fact, but Bush now lacks credibility,"
said Amr Hamzawy of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
"Governments and opposition movements alike, no one is listening —
governments because they were very quick to understand U.S. policy
shifts devaluing democracy promotion, and opposition movements because
the U.S. has done very little to act on its promises."

Someone should tell Bush: "…when you’re wrong, don’t be afraid to change."