Just a little humor, intentional or otherwise, from Presidents of the past for this Saturday afternoon. Feel encouraged to add your own.
“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President.” – Theodore Roosevelt, in an article for Metropolitan Magazine. The remainder of the quote is “… or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country.”, but the shortened version is more memorable and keeps to the spirit of the quote.
(If you don’t understand why this is funny, I’d like to welcome you to The News Blender. Please read other articles here.)
“I know they’re not going to make it for 500 years. They aren’t. You know it, too. The Mexicans are a different cup of tea. They have a heritage. At the present time they steal, they’re dishonest, but they do have some concept of family life. They don’t live like a bunch of dogs, which the Negroes do live like.” – Richard Nixon, taped discussion with Haldeman and Ehrlichman
(Before Twitter, people had to TAPE their racist prejudices. Take that, Sarah Jeong!)
“The main difference between ourselves and the other side is this: We see an America where every day is the Fourth of July. They see an America where every day is April 15.” – Ronald Reagan, September 1984 rally.
(Remember when “We” were the Republicans and “They” were the Democrats? Our current President was a Democrat back then. Maybe that wasn’t an accident.)
“It is infinitely better to have a few good men than many indifferent ones.” – George Washington, letter to James McHenry
(We can go for the easy Congress joke here. But I’ll go to any losing sports team instead because I am just that clever.)
“Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, and cold.” – Thomas Jefferson, letter to his granddaughter Cornelia Jefferson Randolph.
(Dang! Shot down by Thomas Jefferson! Okay, I’m not that clever.)
