"Victory has a thousand fathers but defeat is an orphan" <- what does this mean?

Question

"Victory has a thousand fathers but defeat is an orphan" <- what does this mean?

Answer 1

Defeat means ostracisation :(

Answer 2

JFK - following the Bay of Pigs disaster. . . . .

John Fitzgerald Kennedy quotes“Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” John Fitzgerald Kennedy quotes (American 35th US President (1961-63), 1917-1963) ...

http://www.thinkexist.com/quotation/vict...

Success has a thousand fathers... - O&#039;Reilly XML Blog22 May 2008 ... JFK’s line after the Bay of Pigs that Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan has a less adversarial and more useful popular ...

http://www.oreillynet.com/xml/blog/2008/...

Answer 3

Everyone wants to be responsible for a victory, but no one wants to take the blame when defeated.

Answer 4

Everyone likes to take the credit when something good happens, but nobody wants to take the blame when something not so good happens.