Tom Coburn Quotes

Donald Trump was my friend for 15 years.

I had a very close relationship with [Brian] Mulroney.

People used to ask me: 'Well, was it the power that attracted you to Bill Clinton?' And I said, well, how much power do you think the attorney general of Arkansas has? Of course not. It wasn't that for me. I just a thought he was wonderful in general.

It's really cool to know that there are so many people out there that are attached to me or projects that I've done to really feel that it's a personal relationship.

I don't ever recall having a political argument with Bob Grant. I've known him a long time. I've always liked him.

I have a really close relationship with Mike Bloomberg.

I knew Barack Obama, absolutely. And I knew him probably as well as thousands of other Chicagoans.

The relationship between me and President Mandela right at the beginning was not a very well-established relationship. It was based on two meetings.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has, as Minister Livni knows, has been my friend for over 30 years. We drive each other crazy. But he has truly been a personal friend for well over 30 years. He acknowledged this.

We all know the personal relationship between Michel Platini and President Blatter. It was like a mentor and protege, or even father and son.

I'm a friend of Colin Powell. We talk quite often.

It has been my philosophy all my life that good government is good politics.

Following World War II, the world mostly shared values about human rights, democracy and so forth. Many believed then that Western liberal ideas would be universal. But today it is not the case that we share the same values. If you look at Russia, China, Turkey—and even inside our societies—people have different concepts about how to organize big societies. Typically in Western society, the individual is protected against the collective. But increasingly, the collective is protected against the individual. And even inside our own society, the question arises more and more about how much should you defend the collective against the individual? What is the right balance?

I'm in the intriguing position of being a friend of Jeremy Corbyn and knowing him personally. It's quite a strange position to know somebody that's in the news and know the person who they're talking about and taking pictures of.

I don't fit neatly into anybody's political boxes, and I think that sometimes disturbs people. But I don't think most Alaskans fit neatly into the Republican box or the Democratic box. They don't think of themselves that way.

We all know there are vast differences between Trump and Trudeau as people, but we need to separate that from the pursuit of the mutual interests of the United States and Canada.

There are some in the establishment who dislike a candidate who thinks for himself and isn't easily controlled by the Washington establishment. I will be someone who will be taking a firm stand on principle and will not be knuckling under whenever the establishment snaps its fingers.

I spent eight years with Berlusconi, and I still have a good relationship with him.

I don't see myself as a political figure.

My interest in political philosophy was rather casual until I met Hayek.

Among the liberties of citizens that are guaranteed are ... the right to believe what one chooses, the right to differ from his neighbor, the right to pick and choose the political philosophy he likes best, the right to associate with whomever he chooses, the right to join groups he prefers.

What is it we are hating? It goes beyond politics. I suppose that my fascination with [Margaret Thatcher] is not just with her political record but with her as a phenomenon.

It is clear that those constitutions which aim at the common good are right, as being in accord with absolute justice; while those which aim only at the good of the rulers are wrong.

There will be no end to the troubles of states,Or of humanity itself,Till philosophers become kings in this world,Or till those we now call kings and rulers really And truly become philosophers

Civics is in fact politics, and politics is how things work not only in the political realm but in every other realm. It may be this simple mechanical glitch that unites everything. This is my philosophy.