Tom Coburn on Obama & Budget

I can't stand Tom Coburn's politics. Coburn has been an adult about deficit reduction. Coburn has proposed closing tax loopholes and cutting defense spending. Coburn is giving other Republicans cover from the Tea Party demonizing of President Obama.

Said Coburn: "I love the man. I think he's a neat man. I don't want him to be president, but I still love him. He is our President. He's my President. And I disagree with him adamantly on 95% of the issues, but that doesn't mean I can't have a great relationship. And that's a model people ought to follow."

Coburn and Obama were friends in the Senate. I'm not surprised by Coburn's comments but it will probably not play well with the Tea Party.

Coburn is urging House Republicans to drop the riders in the budget.

"It's pretty unrealistic to think with this president that you're going to get a lot of riders," said Coburn, 63. "That's number one. Number two is, what's the greatest moral dilemma of our day? Abortion is certainly a big one, but if we don't address all these other financial issues that are going to cripple those that are with us, we'll be making a big mistake."

Coburn is telling other Republicans it is unrealistic to get everything that they want. The Tea Party doesn't want to hear that message.