# What's the (political) quote I'm thinking of?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-political-quote-im-thinking-of/641006>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [November 14, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-political-quote-im-thinking-of/641006 "2012-11-14T18:04:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-political-quote-im-thinking-of/641006/1 "2012-11-14T18:04:08Z")

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Google Fu is off because I can’t really think of the right wording (hence the problem).

The closest I’ve found so far is “When your opponent is drowning, throw the son of a bitch an anvil.” - James Carville.

But what I’m thinking of is a bit more benign… something like “when the other side is about to shoot themselves, don’t get in the way” or “If the opposition is about to self-destruct, don’t stop them”.

I’ve heard one that puts the above more artfully. Does anyone remember such a quote?

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**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-political-quote-im-thinking-of/641006/2 "2012-11-14T18:18:31Z")

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Probably some variation on “Never interrupt the enemy when he is making a mistake.” Here’s an [article](http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/07/06/never-interfere/) tracing the maxim back to a quote from Napoleon.

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**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-political-quote-im-thinking-of/641006/3 "2012-11-14T18:21:45Z")

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There’s a common saying about giving someone enough rope to hang themself, if that’s what you’re looking for.

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**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-political-quote-im-thinking-of/641006/4 "2012-11-14T18:29:37Z")

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> [@Balance](#):
>
> Probably some variation on “Never interrupt the enemy when he is making a mistake.” Here’s an [article](http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/07/06/never-interfere/) tracing the maxim back to a quote from Napoleon.

This is really good. Interesting read too.

I feel like I should have another historical quote to wrap this up. Ummm… “In the loosely translated words of Josephus… Thanks.” 🙂

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**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-political-quote-im-thinking-of/641006/5 "2012-11-14T18:31:43Z")

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“Proceed, Mr Governor”  
Yeah, I know, too recent.