Jim Talent Quotes

Obama, for all his brilliance, has no real, felt understanding of management structures or of business.

There are certain skills that business people have that are - that are, in fact, helpful in - when it comes to being in political leadership.

Mitt Romney runs on the claim “I ran a business, therefore I know how to run the country.” Actually, all he did was fire people.

When I came to Congress, I came to bring what I thought was a real-world business perspective to government because, in the business world, I spent over 20 years in the high-tech industry, but it certainly was not unique.

Nikki Haley is a proven leader. And that is what she should be judged on.

I'm a businessman. I'm a former legislator, and I'm an executive. And I've been very effective in each one of those positions.

It's important for whoever is governor to be somebody with a breadth of experience in life, in business, and in service.

When I pick my subcommittee chairmen, I look for people that understand what it's like to run successful businesses, who know what it's like to sign the front of the check instead of the back of the check: somebody that gets it.

The country has moved off track. The people in Washington don't have the hard-nosed business experience needed to get the economy up and running.

I think you need a really strong businessperson running the state, a person who's used to turning negatives into positives, which is what happens in business.

I've always thought Anne-Marie Slaughter would make a fantastic United States Senator or something. She's a real intellectual, but she's got enormous communicative skills and she's got government experience. The thing that drives me slightly crazy is the way we think about intellectuals as wooly, hopeless, arrogant, self-deceived, incapable.

Sometimes in this country, we don't focus a lot on people's experience and their resume. Mitt Romney would be the most experienced executive to be nominated since 1952. The fundamental task for the next president is going to be fixing things, cleaning things up, being a turnaround artist, if you will.

Governor Romney has a great business background. He is extremely well educated. He has several degrees from Harvard, including, you know, business and including a law degree.

I love this company. I don't know how it was selected. It's a bunch of machers. They mean business.

As the leader of twelve apostles, even Jesus had more executive experience than Obama.

People just want to hear some common sense... and I bring to bear the experience in local government and state government and national government - I was the first woman in history on the Senate Finance Committee - not to mention the diplomatic international experience.

I think that business leaders today have to be more rounded than they used to be, they have to be completely multi-functional and fast-moving.

Mitt Romney is a businessman, a turnaround artist, a CEO. That is who he is. The former governor has experience in the public and private sector.

Twenty-eight years in business and you understand the importance of problem solving and the importance of efficiency, because if you don't become efficient, you don't run a business well, and you are out of business. And I think some of those principles could be applied to leadership in Washington.

Some of our finest leaders were not intellectuals at all, and I admire them enormously because they weren't. Harry Truman wasn't.

As a registered Democrat, I am praying for a credible presidential candidate to emerge from the younger tier of politicians in their late 40s. A governor with executive experience would be ideal.

He's a tremendous guy. And what's more, he's virtually a genius in the field of management.

I have invested at least 20 years in business and my own reputation. I'm excited to come into public service, because I think I have something to offer and to contribute. In no way will I put myself in a position of undoing what's taken 20 years to build.

You cannot bring inexperienced men ... into the government and expect the government to run well.

U.P. is a big state. I don't have enough leadership experience for such a big state. I requested the party for two experienced associates to help me and work with me.