Romney misquoted Tom Paine in his victory speech

[Enrique]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/mitt-romney-misquoted-thomas-paine-in-victory-spee

(...)

The quote is widely attributed to Paine online, but searching through his works revealed that the quote doesn't appear in any of them. Fred Shapiro, editor of the authoritative Yale Book of Quotations published by Yale University Press, told BuzzFeed that "the notion that Thomas Paine said this is extremely ridiculous."

"The diction and tone of 'lead, follow, or get out of the way' are, of course, far too modern to have been said by Thomas Paine," Shapiro said.

(...)

In response to a request for comment on the Paine misquote, Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul noted that the candidate had hedged a little bit: "In another era of American crisis, Thomas Paine is reported to have said, 'Lead, follow, or get out of the way.'"

University of Texas professor and Paine scholar William Scheick called Romney's misquoting of Paine "another deplorable example of politicians distorting history to advance themselves and their shadowy supporters" and said that Paine "hardly is apt in Romney's case."

"For me, that's the real story here -- that Romney and his audience apparently have no clue to what a searing liberal freethinker Paine was," said Scheick.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

1. So that stupid line was not only misapplied it was mis-attributed.

[chemp]

2. I always thought it was Patton who first said this...

Willard said it was Paine? Really?

I prefer Carlin.

"Here's another guy thing that sucks. These t-shirts that say: "Lead, follow, or get out of the way". You ever see that? This is more of that stupid Marine Corps bullshit. Obsolete, male impulses from a hundred thousand years ago, "Lead, follow, or get out of the way". You know what I do when I see that shirt; I obstruct. I stand right in the guy's path, force him to walk around me, he gets a little past me, I spin him around kick him in the nuts, rip off his shirt, wipe it on my ass, and shove it down his fucking throat. Hey, listen that's all these marines are looking for; a good time."