I’m back to inviting readers to submit quotations whose origins they want me to try to trace, using my book, The Yale Book of Quotations, and my more recent research.
James Curran asked:
Considering the unrest in the Middle East, I’m reminded of this widely attributed saying. Can you track down by whom and about whom the following statement was first made? “He’s a son-of-a-bitch, but he’s OUR son-of-a-bitch.”
This is usually attributed to Franklin Roosevelt. The earliest version I know of is the following:
To prime President Roosevelt for the visit, Sumner Welles sent him a long solemn memorandum about Somoza and Nicaragua. According to a story told around Washington, Roosevelt read the memo right through, wisecracked: “As a Nicaraguan might say, he’s a sonofabitch but he’s ours.”
Time, Nov. 15, 1948
Maybe one of the talented researchers who are among our regular commenters can find earlier evidence.
Do any readers have any other quotations whose origins they would like me to attempt to trace?
and 
. You can also watch it on 
Fred,
Where did the homey phrase “back in the day” come from? I first started hearing it on Pawn Stars, now it seems to pop up everywhere.
ps: I bought the 1958 Cholesterol Cure to search for the origin of “couch potato” but they sent me the 1996 edition. I have taken another stab at it and the 1958 edition is on the way.
pps: Why aren’t you listed as a contributor on Freakonomics?
What follows is from p. 27 of the 1934 book _The New Dealers_, by
“Unofficial Observer” [pseud., John Franklin Carter]:
After the Chicago Convention, General Hugh Johnson, who had worked hard with Barney Baruch to stop
Roosevelt, was asked what he thought of his nomination. Johnson replied by recalling a story of a county
convention of Democrats in which the wrong man had been chosen. Driving home from the meeting,
two politicians were comparing notes. Both had opposed the successful candidate. One said to the other,
“Damn it all! we should never have let them put Blank over. He’s a son-of-a-bitch.” The other man sighed and
said nothing for a long time. Then he cheered up. “After all,” he observed, “Blank isn’t so bad. He’s _our_ son-of-a bitch!” A year later, Johnson was one of Roosevelt’s principal administrators…