(One of a series of weekday posts on the life of Winston S. Churchill.)
The barbs went back and forth during Churchill’s public life.
Remember this well known one he tossed in the direction of Labour Party leader and his successor as PM Clement Attlee: “A very humble man with much to be humble about?"
His friend F. E. Smith (later Lord Chancellor) said: "Winston spends half his days preparing his impromptu remarks.
When Churchill heard it, he laughed and for years afterwards repeated it to others.
Of Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald, Churchill said: "He has the gift of compressing the largest number of words into the smallest amount of thought."
About Lawrence of Arabia: "He had the art of backing uneasily into the limelight"?
Churchill often got as good as he gave. About his history of the First World War, a political opponent, Sir Samual Hoare, said: "Winston's written an enormous book all about himself and called it "The World Crisis"?
Now a question - who was Churchill referring to when he said: "If you wanted nothing done, he was your man.
The barb is unforgettable, but for the life of me I can't remember its target.
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The Attlee quote and "he was your man" are from memory. The other three are found here at the Churchill Centre
Friday, June 27, 2008
The Churchill Series - Jun. 26, 2008
Posted by JWM at 12:06 PM
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2 comments:
John,
Quote: "He has the gift of compressing the largest number of words into the smallest amount of thought."
I think that still applies to ‘Himself’-with his teleprompter.
On Conservative politician and Prime Minister 1902-06 Arthur Balfour: "If you wanted nothing done, Arthur Balfour was the best man for the task. There was no equal to him."
www.winston-churchill-leadership.com/churchill-quote-others.html
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