God / United States of America Saying

[Shapiro, Fred]

A correspondent asked me about the origin of the saying "God watches out for little children, fools, drunks and the United States of America."  I believe the wording varies.

I could have sworn I saw this discussed on ADS-L or barrypopik.com, but I am having trouble locating discussion of it.  I would welcome any information about early citations for this.

Fred Shapiro

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