Probably not; our trade with China has become so vast that a mere politician would be hard pressed to slow it down.

The latter is a mere politician, whereas the former is much more than that.

Poor, on the whole; and the new First Lord was a fool, a mere politician.

He thought of himself more as a statesman than as a mere politician.

I mean you don;t want mere politicians deciding things.

Overall, the performance of the medical professionals is clearly good, and so no mere politician should try to second guess clinical advice.

"I'm outraged that a mere politician would interpret science for me."

The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them.

They feel they serve a higher calling than mere politicians, who play to the rich and pay off the peasantry.

At least they were not mere politicians but had ideals and principles.