The public at large, however, knew little and cared less about what was happening behind the scenes. Their eyeswhen they bothered to look at allwere upon the well lighted stage where the Harding Administration was playing a drama of discreet and seemly statesmanship.
Actions speak louder than words basically means that the character you play as yourself shows the real truth of who you are and what you're capable of, since playing the role of yourself can show your true colors without you even saying a word.
Language that is so intense or exaggerated it must be read as meaning less than it literally states; a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used in the service of truth (ex: a beggar to one who drops a penny into the tin cup: I'm rich!) Understatement (litotes): saying less than one what really means.