It’s probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963–69)

Quoted in David Halberstam, book review, New York Times (1971-10-31)
    (Source)

Review of the just-published Lyndon Johnson, Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency 1963-1969, regarding the difficulty for him to fire FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover. Halberstam notes this as a Johnson quotation not found in the book, complaining that it's far too sanitized a retelling of Johnson's presidency. This is generally accepted as the earliest printed mention of the quotation.