Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) criticized Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich’s leadership skills in an appearance on Fox News Sunday.
The conservative senator has been critical of Mr. Gingrich throughout his career in Congress. In his 2003 book entitled “Breach of Trust,” Mr. Coburn claimed the former House speaker had a lack of “courage” and “good judgement.
On Sunday he continued his opposition to Mr. Gingrich’s campaign
“The thing is there are all type of leaders,” Mr. Coburn said, appearing on “FOX News Sunday.”
“Leaders that instill confidence, leaders that are somewhat abrupt and brisk, leaders that have one standard for the people they are leading and different standard for themselves,” Mr. Coburn added, also stating that he would have “difficulty” supporting Mr. Gingrich if he did become the Republican candidate for the 2012 election.
“I found his leadership lacking,” Mr. Coburn stated, referring to the term he served in the U.S. House of Representatives while Mr. Gingrich was the House speaker from 1995-99.
As Mr. Gingrich continues to surge in national polls, the conservative Oklahoma senator has not backed down from his criticism of the former Georgia lawmaker.
In an interview with Tulsa World in August after a poll placed Mr. Gingrich in third place among Iowa voters, Mr. Coburn slammed him for his failed marriages.
“[He] is a super-smart man, but he doesn’t know anything about commitment to marriage,” Mr. Coburn said of Mr. Gingrich, who is currently married to Callista Gingrich, a former congressional staffer who testified 1999 as having an extramarital affair with Mr. Gingrich while he was married to his first wife.
“He’s the last person I’d vote for for president of the United States. His life indicates he does not have a commitment to the character traits necessary to be a great president,” Mr. Coburn added in the August interview with the Oklahoma newspaper.
A recent poll by the Des Moines Register showed Mr. Gingrich as the leading candidate among Iowa voters with 25 percent, ahead of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) who finished with 18 percent and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney who finished with 16 percent.
