Sometimes, when discussing this subject, I am reminded of the quote from the play 1776. In discussing his place in history with Ben Franklin, John Adams says:
It doesn’t matter. I won’t be in the history books anyway, only you. Franklin did this and Franklin did that and Franklin did some other damn thing. Franklin smote the ground and out sprang George Washington, fully grown and on his horse. Franklin then electrified him with his miraculous lightning rod and the three of them – Franklin, Washington, and the horse – conducted the entire revolution by themselves.
The Wolf