"The country's in the very best of hands"

“The Country’s In The Very Best Of Hands” is a song (music by Gene De Paul and lyrics by Johnny Mercer) in the 1956 Broadway musical Li’l Abner. The song is a satirical look at politics—“the very best of hands” isn’t very comforting.

“To be in good hands” is an old saying that dates to at least the 16th century. “The country’s in the very best of hands” is still a popular expression, usually used with irony after a government malfunction.

(Oxford English Dictionary)
in (also into) good hands: in (also into) the charge or care of a reliable and trustworthy person or persons; securely protected by a dependable party; = in (also into) safe hands at Phrases 1f(e)(ii).
?1551 A. Bacon tr. B. Ochino 14 Serm. x. sig. F.vi, They are then in good handes, beynge in Christes, out of the whyche none shall take them.
1684 Observator in Dialogue 23 Apr., We are Safe, so long as we are in Good hands.

Wikipedia: Li’l Abner (musical)
Li’l Abner is a musical with a book by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, music by Gene De Paul, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Based on the comic strip Li’l Abner by Al Capp, the show is, on the surface, a broad spoof of hillbillies, but it is also a pointed satire on broader topics, ranging from incompetence in the United States federal government to standards of masculinity.

After several other writers and composers considered musicalizing the comic strip, Al Capp finally made a deal in 1955 with the eventual creators for a musical to be financed by Paramount Pictures, which wanted to follow the stage version with a film musical. The Broadway production opened on November 15, 1956 and ran for a moderately successful 693 performances. The score and Michael Kidd’s choreography received critical praise, but some critics felt that the book’s adaptation lost the spirit of the comic strip. Kidd and Edie Adams, as Daisy Mae, won Tony Awards, while newcomer Peter Palmer, in the title role, won a Theatre World Award. Paramount released a film version, in 1959, with most of the Broadway cast reprising their roles.
(...)
Abner and Marryin’ Sam return to Dogpatch with the happy news that “The Country’s In the Very Best of Hands”.

All Musicals
Musical: Li’l Abner
Song: The Country’s In The Very Best Of Hands
(...)
The treasury says the national debt
Is climbing to the sky
And government expenditures
Have never been so high
It makes a fellow get a
Gleam of pride when they decide
To see how our economy expands
The country’s in the very best of hands

The country’s in the very best of hands
The best of hands
The best of hands

Turner Classic Movies
Li’l Abner—(Movie Clip) The Very Best of Hands
Abner (Peter Palmer) and Marryin’ Sam (Stubby Kaye) lead the citizens of Dogpatch in Johnny Mercer and Gene de Paul’s “The Country’s in the Very Best of Hands” in Li’l Abner, 1959.

National Review Online
APRIL 21, 2011 4:00 AM
The Country’s in the Very Best of Hands
It’s Li’l Barry, the musical, starring Barry Btfsplk
By David Kahane
Remember Joe Btfsplk? I don’t either, but I gather from my father, the sainted “Che” Kahane, that he was the funny little guy with a perpetual cloud over his head in the old Li’l Abner comic strip. Nothing went right for this poor schlimazel, who was also the world’s worst jinx. Everything he touched turned to dreck.

Now, if that reminds you of a certain current president of the United States, you’re probably not alone.

Twitter
Frank Reid Jr
‏@marfdrat
marfdrat: The Country’s in the Very Best of Hands: Four Consecutive Deficits of > $1 Trillion http://mrfdrt.in/3qYVrD
3:53 PM - 19 Aug 13

Breitbart.com
We’re in the very best of hands
by JOHN HAYWARD 3 Sep 2013
In response to Ann Coulter: ‘We Should Check With Hillary To See If Chemical Gas Wasn’t Released By Syrian Upset By YouTube Video’: ...

Doug Ross @ Journal
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2013
WE’RE IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS: Enrollment Data Entered Into Healthcare.gov Available in Google Search Results