His finest hour

"There comes a special moment in everyone's life; a moment for which that person was born. That special opportunity, when he seizes it, will fulfill his mission-a mission for which he is uniquely qualified. In that moment, he finds greatness. It is his finest hour."

-- Winston Churchill, British prime minister

Winston Churchill was plagued by numerous failures and disasters throughout his life. He was a political outcast within his own party. While others called for appeasement of the rising threat of Hitler in the 1930s, he warned of the dangers of this strategy. His individualism left him alone and without allies and followers. He was disliked by many in his political party.

Then, almost quite suddenly, in July 1940 everyone in his party, and Britain, turned and stood solidly behind him. Churchill's accumulated warnings about Hitler had come true. Churchill became Prime Minister of Britain, and then 'savior of Western civilization'.

Churchill's ascension to Prime Minister was a miracle. He could not have known that what he had been standing for, for many years, unpopular as it was, would be what made him the most certain candidate when circumstances changed and appeasement was found to be unsatisfactory.