Dan Rather Pop Quiz!

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.”