Origin of “We can’t spare this woman; she fights!”

It has become a familiar refrain when the topic of discussion turns to Sarah Palin:

"We can’t spare this woman. She fights."

Some have inquired of us about the origins of this quote. According to one of the inner circle that was close to Arbraham Lincoln, the simple statement came from the great man himself:

"Can't Spare This Man"

One night, about eleven o’clock, Colonel A. K. McClure, whose intimacy with President Lincoln was so great that he could obtain admittance to the Executive Mansion at any and all hours, called at the White House to urge Mr. Lincoln to remove General Grant from command.

After listening patiently for a long time, the President, gathering himself up in his chair, said, with the utmost earnestness:

"I can’t spare this man; he fights!"

In relating the particulars of this interview, Colonel McClure said:

"That was all he said, but I knew that it was enough, and that Grant was safe in Lincoln’s hands against his countless hosts of enemies..."

(from Lincoln’s Yarns and Stories, by Colonel Alexander K. McClure)

The quote has been adapted by Sarah Palin’s supporters to stress how important she is to the center-right grassroots.

The earliest application of the quote to Palin that we can find was by author David Karki in an op-ed for the North Star Writers Group April 22, 2009:

The next step is to coalesce into a cohesive organization, rather like the Sons of Liberty in the 1760s. And as for leadership, I hesitate to even begin to guess at this embryonic stage, but if the evaluation criteria are being despised by the establishment and having a willingness to fight, there is only one name presently on the public scene that comes close to fitting both bills – Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Much like the aforementioned example [i.e., Lincoln], it may come down to one simple thing: We cannot spare this woman – she fights.

The quote, as modified by Karki, has become a battle cry for Palin supporters who are convinced that, more so than any other prominent GOP figure, she is showing leadership in opposition to Barack Obama, the Democrats and all that they represent.

- JP