Leopold II Quotes
You never can say too much in praise of your country and its inhabitants. Two nations in Europe are really almost ridiculous in their own exaggerated praises of themselves; these are the English and the French.
Leopold II, 1835-1909, King of Belgium, Uncle & Long Term Advisor to Queen Victoria of England, Advice to his young niece, Queen Victoria of England, Letter, June 27, 1837
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
The French have for over 1000 years had a nationalistic ego that was, compared to other countries, very extreme. Highly nationalistic Frenchmen have almost always felt that the French were not proud enough of their exalted role in the history of human civilization. De Gaulle was the most extreme but Chevenement was not too far behind.
This speech to over 100,000 people galvanized the Indian nationalists They had been asking the British to change the constitution to give India more independence. Churchill was opposed to any policy that would diminish the British Empire, but needed the Indians as men of India served in the British Army in every major theater of WWII. So instead of saying "No" Churchill held out the possibility but at a later time. He argued that it was inopportune to alter the Constitution in the midst of a world war.
This phrase is most likely taken from Bernard Shaw, see {47059}
Although a member of the Prime Minister’s party and Cabinet, Cooper was so outraged that he called for Chamberlain’s resignation leading to Winston Churchill becoming Prime Minister.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910
Obama was the first sitting president to ever use the actual phrase. Others had talked about the concept but never used the words.
