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.