Abraham Lincoln was an extremely poor debater early in his political career. It was not until 1857, just a year prior to his famous series of debates with Douglas, that he came into his own. During a debate Lincoln was so incensed at his opponent's habit of eating during his rebuttal that he finally shouted "Shut your blasted piehole!" The opponent was so startled that he choked on his bite and was unable to finish the debate. Lincoln saw this as the single turning point of his political career, and made a point of eating pie every dinner for the rest of his life.