Howard Baker Quotes

There is an appealing moral clarity in dividing the world into friend and foe. But in reality, progress in international affairs so often demands working with those with whom we do not see eye to eye.

Better to cooperate with those you believe to be misguided than to risk mutual destruction.

I get very very concerned when I hear people start characterizing their opponents as stupid. I still understand that because politics is a little rough and tumble at times, but I don’t buy it and when they start calling each other either crazy or evil. You and I, we don’t compromise with crazy people or evil people. And so, I don’t think that’s helpful. Generally speaking, just because someone disagrees with you doesn’t make them crazy or evil.

The BJP has never considered its political opponents as enemies.

I am not made for politics because I am incapable of wanting or accepting the death of the adversary.

There is too much at stake for us to surrender to the politics of polarization.

Animosity is not a policy.

There's no room for petty grievances in politics.

We cannot expect to make everyone our friend, but we can try to make no one our enemy.

In campaigning, you want to slay your opponent. In governing, you want to make love to your opponent.

We need to stop treating our opponents as our enemies.

We need a lot more respect in this country for compromise…. There is in compromise a lot of integrity, especially political integrity.

When you get into a political fight, never try and kill your opponent. Leave him an exit way to escape with his dignity intact. Remember your enemy today you may need as an ally tomorrow.

I'm a strong believer in bipartisanship.

So we should all, me included, stop fighting each other and arguing about our differences on certain policies.

We can be civil. We can still be friends, and be Democrats and Republicans, and have different views.

The high point of civilization is that you can hate me and I can hate you but we develop an etiquette that allows us to deal with each other because if we acted solely upon our impulse we'd probably go to war.

Alliance does not mean love, any more than war means hate.

But you've got to understand what the other guy is about, even if at the end of the process you decide that there is no ground with this man or woman except to fight them.

Our object should be peace within, and peace without. We want to live peacefully and maintain cordial friendly relations with our immediate neighbours and with the world at large.

Dialogue is the basis of Indian culture, and we don't want to make any enemies. Political and ideological adversaries, perhaps, but not enemies.

We have to find compromises. That's the way it is in Norway.

I see good ideas on the Republican side as well as the Democratic side. You have to return civility and statesmanship to governance. If you don't do that, it doesn't matter what portfolio of issue you're pushing, nothing is going to get done.

The world will never have lasting peace so long as men reserve for war the finest human qualities. Peace, no less than war, requires idealism and self-sacrifice and a righteous and dynamic faith.

How can you work with someone if you went into their state to campaign against them?