Winston Churchill Quotes
(During a long speech in Parliament by Labour M. P. John Foster, Churchill dropped his head on his chest and closed his eyes. Foster criticized his "Right Honourable Opponent" for being asleep. Churchill shot back:) I wish to God I were! (Another Labour M. P. asked Mr. Churchill if he must fall asleep during his speech. Churchill replied:) No, it is purely voluntary.
Winston Churchill, 1874-1965, British Prime Minister (Conservative), Parliamentary Debate, May 1946
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
This famous quotation illustrates the perfect political reply to a personal attack. In one short sentence, Lincoln denied the charge, obtained the sympathy of the audience, demonstrated that he was not stuck-up, entertained the crowd, and gave everyone there a story to tell about him afterward—the perfect oratorical response.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the Republican party had many closely contested primary contests—often with more than 2 candidates. Though not always, most of the Republican incumbents and challengers in the primaries were very rich. The Republicans had been so successful against the Democrats by attacking opponents viciously and crudely, truthfully and otherwise, that they brought that style of campaigning into their primary elections and often these primary election debates were very nasty fights.
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, DL, FRS, RA was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Apart from two years between 1922 and 1924, Churchill was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1964 and represented a total of five constituencies. Ideologically an economic liberal and imperialist, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, as leader from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924. Churchill was also well known for his military career and as a historian, painter and writer, and among his many awards was the Nobel Prize in Literature.
