Dan Rather Pop Quiz!

Six interesting facts about the retired CBS news anchorman found in his new book, Rather Outspoken

by Jeff Salamon

May 2012

1. In his new book, Rather Outspoken (Grand Central, $27.99), which 
image does Dan Rather not use to describe his state of mind?

a. “A jukebox came on in my head and replayed the horror over 
and over, and there 
was nothing 
I could do about it.”

b. “At that moment, my brain felt like an iTunes playlist, and someone had just pressed the shuffle button.”

c. “In my head, there is a huge rack of videotapes tucked away in my 
mental museum.”

d. “My mind begins to 
wander: a kaleidoscope 
of thoughts.”

2. Complete the sentence: “[When I first met my future wife, Jean Goebel] the spark was there from the beginning—___________”

a. “yowza, yowza, yowza.”

b. “awwww, yeeeeaahh.”

c. “bingo bombshell holy smoke.”

d. “and soon enough that spark turned into a fire, and sixty years later 
that fire still burns hotter 
than a pork chop on a Texas rooftop in the middle of August.”

3. Though Rather uses 
the line “She also 
had a figure that would make a bishop kick 
out a stained glass 
window” without 
attribution, the phrase (in only slightly different form) was originally written by:

a. Hunter S. Thompson

b. G. K. Chesterton

c. Raymond Chandler

d. Kinky Friedman

4. What word does Rather use to describe the 
Johnson administration’s rosy descriptions of the war effort in Vietnam?

a. bullfeathers

b. horsedookey

c. chickenpoop

d. subterfudge

5. True or false: 
Dan Rather actually writes, “These clerics 
are a hard-line 
group of older men 
who advocate the 
killing of Americans. And I do not think 
that is right.”

6. Match the description with the “presidents I have known.”

1. Eisenhower 2. Kennedy 3. Johnson 4. Nixon 5. Ford 6. Carter 7. Reagan 8. Bush 41 9. Clinton 10. Bush 43 11. Obama

a. “Had zero interest in legislation.” b. “Didn’t feel any particular chemistry with me.” c. “Was very image conscious.” d. “Was a hater.” e. “Was into honesty.” f. “Was obviously proud of his macho performance.”g. “A genial fellow.” h. “Played golf every morning.” i.“I got along well with him.” j.“A nice guy who is open to compromise.” k.“Believed that he was his own best press secretary.”

Answers: 1. b; 2. c; 3. c; 4. a; 5. true; 6. 1, h; 2, c; 3, k; 4, d; 5, g; 6, e; 7, b; 8, f; 9, i; 10, a; 11, j

A little something extra: Read our story about Rather’s fall from grace here.

This piece is part of "The Writes of Spring," a multi-part story reviewing several Texas-related books, including new work by Robert Caro, Ben Fountain, and Sissy Spacek.