Coburn: Obama leads using ‘politics of division’

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) on Tuesday accused President Obama of leading the country using the “politics of division.”

On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Coburn was asked how the country could be directed on the right path. 

“So what we need is real leadership, and my friend has used the politics of division more than any president I know in my lifetime,” Coburn said, referring to Obama. 

{mosads}The two-term senator is considered one of the most conservative lawmakers in Congress. He is currently battling cancer and recently announced he would retire before the end of 2014. 

Leadership is about “sacrifice,” Coburn said Tuesday, adding that amounts to doing what’s right for the country, not just for political parties.

“What we need is a healing leader that will talk truthfully to the country about what our real problems are, and the sacrifices that are going to be required if we are to solve them,” he said.

Coburn warned Obama not to implement measures through executive orders, a topic expected to be discussed in Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night.

“If you really want to work with Congress, you have to be willing to sit down, rub elbows, compromise and say, ‘We’re going to go.’ And what we’re hearing in this speech is ‘If you don’t want to do what I want, I’m going to do it through executive order,” Coburn said.

“Again, that’s creating a division in the country that says, ‘Congress is bad and I’m good. So, therefore, I’m going to do what I’m going to do.’ I think that’s the wrong way to lead.”