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Abraham Lincoln

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You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.
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This is probably the most famous of apparently apocryphal remarks attributed to Lincoln. Despite being cited variously as from an 1856 speech, or a September 1858 speech in Clinton, Illinois, there are no known contemporary records or accounts substantiating that he ever made the statement. The earliest known appearance is October 29, 1886 in the Milwaukee Daily Journal. It later appeared in the New York Times on August 26 and August 27, 1887. The saying was repeated several times in newspaper editorials later in 1887. In 1888 and, especially, 1889, the saying became commonplace, used in speeches, advertisements, and on portraits of Lincoln. In 1905 and later, there were attempts to find contemporaries of Lincoln who could recall Lincoln saying this. Historians have not, generally, found these accounts convincing. For more information see two articles in For the People: A Newsletter of the Abraham Lincoln Association, "'You Can Fool All of the People' Lincoln Never Said That", by Thomas F. Schwartz (V. 5, #4, Winter 2003, p. 1) and "A New Look at 'You Can Fool All of the People'" by David B. Parker (V. 7, #3, Autumn 2005, p. 1); also the talk page. The statement has also sometimes been attributed to P. T. Barnum, although no references to this have been found from the nineteenth century.
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You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.
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You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.
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You can fool all the people some time, you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can not fool all the people all the time.

 
Abraham Lincoln

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it is true that you may fool all the people some of the time, you can fool some of the people all the time, but you can not fool all of the people all the time... dogs, on the other hand, with them all you need to do is flick your wrist and they run off looking for some stupid tennis ball. (famous cat quotes)

 
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You can fool too many of the people too much of the time.

 
James Thurber
 

You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.

 
Anonymous
 

The trouble with this country is that there are too many politicians who believe, with a conviction based on experience, that you can fool all of the people all of the time.

 
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The one was Texas medicine. the other was just railroad gin. And, like a fool, I mixed them and it strangled up my mind and now people just get uglier and I have no sense of time.

 
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