Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield Quotes

Human relationships are at the core of political success.

Prime Minister Abe's top-level relation-building is tremendous. I can't do the same.

People like to do politics with me, and they like to do business.

Take pains to get on your side the young men of high rank, and keep the friendship of those whom you already have. They will contribute much to your political position.

I always figure, you come to a party, you gotta know somebody. And somebody leads to another person and leads to somebody else, somebody else. That's one of things that I really enjoy doing.

Japan is running an ongoing political campaign in America as if it were a third major party.

Parties in Washington are a natural extension of the working day.... Everybody uses everybody.

Man, you could make a lot of friends real fast on those supercommittees.

Politics is a game of friends.

It's very interesting how Washington works. It's not about speeches. It's about relationships.

I hear a lot of young people talking about the need to network. I think that is true, and I think that building a network makes sense. But I also think that there is another way to approach it, and that is to try to make friends. Just try to make a lot of friends.

It is good to have friends at court.

When I hear 'politics,' I hear 'relationships.'

I've always thought that I've had a nice gift for putting the right people together.

Look at it from [Vladimir] Putin's perspective, right. He's a trained intelligence officer, worked for the KGB, very talented, manipulated people much smarter than Donald Trump. He played this perfectly, right. He saw that Donald Trump wanted to be complimented.

Meetings ... are rather like cocktail parties. You don't want to go, but you're cross not to be asked.

Russia has cultivated an opaque network of patronage across the region that it uses to influence and direct decision- making.

A political place with no power, only influence, is not to my taste.

Quite obviously power will continue to play a central role in global politics as it always does. But usually there is something else.

Campaign manager Eli Gold played by Alan Cumming on "The Good Wife" describing an old maxim in politics, don't commit to a decision before you have to. And that rule appears to have worked brilliantly for Democratic candidate front-runner Hillary Clinton, who has avoided taking a position on the president's trade agenda and has remained out of the ugly public spat with the progressive wing of her party. She has also not taken a position on the Iranian - on the talks.

There is a difference between being a political force, or a political apparent force or a potential force, and between a real discourse or a real argument.

I have no relationship to Russia whatsoever.

I fully, fully concede that Secretary Hillary Clinton, who was secretary of State for four years, has more experience - hat is not arguable - in foreign affairs.

Brian Burke as we now know was the most influential person in the West Australian Labor Party, if you could attract him, you're in business.

Every prime minister has a whole series of networks, and there are official formal networks and there are unofficial informal networks. I'm lucky in that I have good official formal networks, starting with my own office, the leadership group, the cabinet and the party room.