God watches out for children, fools, drunks and the United States of America

This is a serious vanity. Someone once said, perhaps Churchill, "God watches out for little children, fools, drunks and the United States of America." I am sure that this quote is not exact and I am sure it was someone other than Churchill, however, I believe in the truth of this quote. I am starting a small list of great people that came to the aid of the US when it was most in need or most threatened. Feel free to add, criticize and/substitute.

Well, I have some qualms.

“Abraham Lincoln”

Technically, he caused the problem in the first place. Or, rather, he was the proverbial last straw.

“General Pershing”

I don’t consider that America was much threatened by the Great War, except insofar as it disrupted peaceful intercourse between the nations.

And how can you include Pershing while ommitting:

Patton

Eisenhower

and

MacArthur?

“Theodore Roosevelt”

He did assume the throne in the wake of a terrorist attack, but it was not an hour of need. Aside from brokering the peace between Japs and Ruskies, slipping Panama out from under the Columbians’ noses, and symbolically projecting emerging American power, TR spent (wasted) his time confronting the “wealthy criminal class” and stealing land for the federal government.

“FDR—For his leadership through most of WWII”

I assume you add the rider knowing full-well how horribly he screwed up the war’s denouement by ceeding to Uncle Joe more territory than was conquered by Hitler, thus nullifying the gains of the war (unless you were a Jew).

Someone once said, perhaps Churchill, "God watches out for little children, fools, drunks and the United States of America."

This quotation is most often ascribed to Otto von Bismarck, but I can find no documentary evidence that he actually said these words. A traditional French proverb (Dieu aide à trois sortes de personnes: aux fous, aux enfants, et aux ivrogenes, "God helps three sorts of people: fools, children, and drunkards") may be the source of the idea.

“God protects fools, drunks, and the United Staes of America”

Otto van Bismark, 28 January 1886, paraphrasing a very old French proverb:

“God helps three kinds of people, fools, and drunkards.”

Or perhaps an English one:

” . . .children, sailors, and drunken men.” (Thomas Hughes, “Tom Brown at Oxford.” 1861.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.