1.
What did Blagojevich, known for his thick mop of
brown hair, call his ever-present hairbrush while on the campaign trail?
Correct Answer
C. The football
Explanation
The nickname is an allusion to the "nuclear football," the black briefcase that must always be within reach of the President so he can authorize a nuclear attack.
2.
Executives
of a Chicago children's hospital who were seeking additional state funding in
2008 had someone call and lobby the Governor. Who was that lobbyist?
Correct Answer
B. Dusty Baker
Explanation
An avid Cubs fan, Blagojevich was swayed by a call from the team’s former manager. According to documents filed as part of the federal investigation, he told his chief of staff, "Dusty Baker called me. I'm going to do $8 million for them. I want to get Magoon for 50," which John Wyma, a former Blagojevich fund-raiser, says meant that the governor wanted Patrick Magoon, the Children's Memorial Hospital C.E.O., to contribute fifty thousand dollars to his campaign in exchange for boosting donations to the hospital.
3.
Who
didn’t Blagojevich consider to fill
Barack Obama’s Senate seat?
Correct Answer
D. His brother, Robert Blagojevich
Explanation
He also considered Valerie Jarrett, President Obama's close friend and adviser. According to tapes played at his trial, Blagojevich thought she might offer a quid pro quo: “She’s holding Health and Human Services, and I’m holding the U.S. Senate seat,” he told an adviser. “I’m willing to trade for the thing I have tightly held for something she holds not as tightly.”
4.
To
which of the following people has Blagojevich refrained from comparing himself?
Correct Answer
A. Sherlock Holmes
Explanation
But his lawyers did give what is being called the “Sherlock Holmes Defense," quoting the series' author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." Blagojevich’s wife, Patti, later said that she has been reading Sherlock Holmes stories on her cell phone.
5.
Which
writer or writers has Blagojevich publicly quoted since he was arrested?
Correct Answer(s)
A. Rudyard Kipling
C. Alfred Lord Tennyson
Explanation
At a press conference in December, 2008, shortly after his arrest, he read from Rudyard Kipling's "If." The next month, following the House vote to impeach, he read Lord Alfred Tennyson's "Ulysses."
6.
What
nickname did the Chicago tabloid Redeye
often use for Blagojevich?
Correct Answer
A. G-Rod
Explanation
He was also dubbed "Governor Sunshine" by Chicago Magazine.
7.
In
the F.B.I. tapes, what does Blagojevich speculate might be his destiny?
Correct Answer
D. To deliver pizza
Explanation
The full quote: "I mean, I could be and I could sti—, end up still maybe delivering pizzas somewhere. Maybe that's where my destiny is, right? And I'm over here fucking, where I could make myself a U.S. senator for this job, for that job for two years. Or stay on as governor. I don't know but what that's like but, and, you know, the president of the United States is somebody I know."
8.
What,
according to the tapes, did Rod Blagojevich give your grandmother?
Correct Answer
C. A free fucking ride on a bus
Explanation
The full quote: "I fucking busted my ass and pissed people off and gave your grandmother a free fucking ride on a bus, Okay? I gave your fucking baby a chance to have health care."
9.
Which
is not one of the possible reasons
that Blagojevich lost “Celebrity Apprentice”?
Correct Answer
D. He made a pass at rival the project manager for the women’s team, the Victoria's Secret model Selita Ebanks.
Explanation
Despite the other answers and his mangling of "Harry Potter" details when he had to promote a ”Wizarding World” theme-park attraction, Donald Trump did say, while firing Blagojevich, “I have great respect for you.”
10.
Who
compared Rod to his brother by saying, “Robert is like a Boy Scout—organized
and hardworking. The other is disorganized and just isn’t made the same way.”
Correct Answer
D. Mila Govedarica, Rod and Robert’s mother
Explanation
Thanks to Rod, Robert the Boy Scout is also currently facing federal charges, including extortion, conspiracy, and wire fraud.
11.
The first time Blagojevich appeared on “The Late
Show with David Letterman” in February of last year, what song did Paul Shaffer
and the orchestra play when he walked on stage?
Correct Answer
B. “My Way”
Explanation
"Treat Me Nice," of course, is the song that Blagojevich sang at a street fair in Chicago, where he was joined on stage by a Fabio impersonator.
12.
What
did Blagojevich say he was “probably overqualified” for?
Correct Answer
C. A spot on “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!”
Explanation
But that's not what kept him off the show; a judge in Chicago told him he couldn't go to Costa Rica for filming.
13.
What
did Blagojevich’s wife, Patti, eat on an episode of “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me
Out of Here!”?
Correct Answer
A. A tarantula
Explanation
She said it had a "musty, yeasty" flavor.
14.
Who
chased Blagojevich in the parking lot of “The View”?
Correct Answer
C. Geraldo Rivera
Explanation
Rivera managed to get a quick interview, even though Blagojevich's publicist had cancelled the official one.
15.
What does the phrase
"What's she thinking?” refer to?
Correct Answer
D. An old Blagojevich ad campaign that played up the tactlessness of his opponent
Explanation
To read more about the ad campaign and Blagojevich, check out David Mendell's article in The New Yorker.