Test Your Knowledge On Rod Blagojevich!

1. 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.”

Julie Blagojevich, Robert’s wife

Mike Ettinger, Robert’s defense attorney

Ed Gensen, Rod’s initial defense attorney, who resigned last January

Mila Govedarica, Rod and Robert’s mother

Thanks to Rod, Robert the Boy Scout is also currently facing federal charges, including extortion, conspiracy, and wire fraud.

Explanation

Thanks to Rod, Robert the Boy Scout is also currently facing federal charges, including extortion, conspiracy, and wire fraud.

2. What, according to the tapes, did Rod Blagojevich give your grandmother?

A chance to have health care, damn it

A golden fucking ticket

A free fucking ride on a bus

Freedom

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."

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."

3. To which of the following people has Blagojevich refrained from comparing himself?

Sherlock Holmes

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Abraham Lincoln

Jimmy Stewart

Mahatma Gandhi

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.

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.

4. What nickname did the Chicago tabloid Redeye often use for Blagojevich?

G-Rod

Rodney Danger

Golden Guv

Big Blag

He was also dubbed "Governor Sunshine" by Chicago Magazine.

Explanation

He was also dubbed "Governor Sunshine" by Chicago Magazine.

5. What did Blagojevich’s wife, Patti, eat on an episode of “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!”?

A tarantula

A worm

A hundred-dollar bill

Forty-nine hot dogs

She said it had a "musty, yeasty" flavor.

Explanation

She said it had a "musty, yeasty" flavor.

6. Which is not one of the possible reasons that Blagojevich lost “Celebrity Apprentice”?

He fell asleep when he should have been working.

He doesn’t know how to use e-mail.

He showed favoritism toward Poison singer Bret Michaels.

He made a pass at rival the project manager for the women’s team, the Victoria's Secret model Selita Ebanks.

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.”

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.”

7. What does the phrase "What's she thinking?” refer to?

Public speculation as to why Patti has stayed with Rod

Blagojevich’s speculation as to why Patti ate the tarantula

Blagojevich's frequent question, recorded on the tapes, regarding whether Valerie Jarrett would want the Senate seat

An old Blagojevich ad campaign that played up the tactlessness of his opponent

To read more about the ad campaign and Blagojevich, check out David Mendell's article in The New Yorker.

Explanation

To read more about the ad campaign and Blagojevich, check out David Mendell's article in The New Yorker.

8. Who chased Blagojevich in the parking lot of “The View”?

Whoopi Goldberg

Diane Sawyer

Geraldo Rivera

David Mendell, who wrote about Blagojevich in The New Yorker

Rivera managed to get a quick interview, even though Blagojevich's publicist had cancelled the official one.

Explanation

Rivera managed to get a quick interview, even though Blagojevich's publicist had cancelled the official one.

9. 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?

Fabio

Dusty Baker

Michael Jordan

Dr. Sanjay Gupta

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.

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.

10. What did Blagojevich, known for his thick mop of brown hair, call his ever-present hairbrush while on the campaign trail?

The savior

The hedgehog

The football

The beast

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.

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.

11. What did Blagojevich say he was “probably overqualified” for?

Obama’s Senate seat

A guest-host position on “The View”

A spot on “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!”

White House Chief of Staff

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.

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.

12. In the F.B.I. tapes, what does Blagojevich speculate might be his destiny?

To be a U.N. ambassador

To be the Commander in Chief

To go to jail

To deliver pizza

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."

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."

13. 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?

“Treat Me Nice”

“My Way”

“It Wasn’t Me”

“I’ve Got a Golden Ticket”

"I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair"

"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.

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.

14. Who didn’t Blagojevich consider to fill Barack Obama’s Senate seat?

Oprah Winfrey

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Jesse Jackson, Jr.

His brother, Robert Blagojevich

Himself

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.”

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.”

15. Which writer or writers has Blagojevich publicly quoted since he was arrested?

Rudyard Kipling

Robert Frost

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Emily Dickinson

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."

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."

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