Unstable Quotes
In 1904, candidate Theodore Roosevelt solicited campaign funds from leading businessmen. After he was elected, he was viewed to have "turned" on them since he attempted to curtail monopolistic excess, instituted regulation, and made other business reforms. This is the original remark, but another, more sanitized version appeared in New York Times and other places as: “We bought him and he did not stay bought.”
1st Marquis of Peña Plata
The phrase had been a common one in naval parlance to indicate a cannon on board a ship that had broken free of the ropes and restraints and was rolling around. These were very dangerous to the ship. Roosevelt, as Secretary of the Navy was very familiar with that use. Today, the term is almost exclusively used in the Roosevelt political/administrative sense.
The Magic 8 Ball was a novelty item which displayed answers to questions the “players” might have asked. The process was random so answers changed all the time. Donald Trump, a very unusual political candidate, would very frequently give different, and often contradictory, answers to the same question. In a single interview he frequently flip flopped on an issue and on a few occasions he gave speeches and changes his position within the same speech.
