Quiz: Political Scandals

QUIZ: Political Scandals

The day after David Paterson was sworn in as governor of New York, he went on television and admitted to past drug use and extramarital affairs. The idea was to protect himself from the type of scandal that had brought down his predecessor, prostitution enthusiast Eliot Spitzer. However, it wasn't enough. In February 2010, Paterson was accused of witness tampering on behalf of a top aide, and the allegations were so damaging that he withdrew his re-election bid.

Politicians have been embroiled in scandals for as long as the job description has existed. The United States has been no exception, boasting a mass of public servants who have engaged in unsavory activities when they were supposed to be tirelessly advancing the common good.

How much do you know about American political scandals? Take our quiz and find out.

Posted 8 March 2010

In April 2002, James Traficant was found guilty of what crime?

1. Bribery
2. Kidnapping
3. Murder
4. Vehicular manslaughter

In 2002, Ohio congressman James Traficant was charged with accepting bribes. For many Americans, the televised trial was their first chance to experience him in all his offbeat glory, but Ohio residents had known him and his shockingly obvious hairpiece for decades. The 2002 trial was his second for bribery --- the first had been in 1983, when he became the only person to ever win a RICO case while acting as his own attorney. However, the second time he wasn't so lucky, and he received a seven-year sentence.

SOURCE: Traficant Guilty Of Bribery, Racketeering | CNN.com

How many terms did Marion Barry serve as mayor of Washington, D.C.?

1. 2
2. 3
3. 4
4. 5

Marion Barry served four terms as mayor, even though his third was marred in 1990 by a criminal case that by most measures should have ended his career. FBI agents had conducted a sting operation in which Barry and a girlfriend were arrested for drug possession. The arrest was caught on film and broadcast ad nauseum on television, as was the footage of the mayor smoking crack. Barry served six months in federal prison, and upon his release he ran for a city council seat, using the slogan "He May Not Be Perfect, But He's Perfect For D.C." He won his fourth term as mayor two years later.

SOURCE: Former Mayor's Victory Worries Many in Capital | New York Times

What slogan did supporters of Edwin Edwards' gubernatorial run use?

1. Alive With Pleasure!
2. Segregation Today, Segregation Tomorrow, Segregation Forever
3. Stay The Course
4. Vote For The Crook. It's Important.

Four-time Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards was famously corrupt, and he has seen the inside of more than one jail because of it. After a 1987 election defeat, journalists statewide were happy to write his political obituary, one even saying that the only way Edwards would ever win another election was if his opponent was Adolf Hitler. As luck would have it, Edwards mounted his 1991 political comeback by running against former Klansman David Duke. Suddenly, cars all over Louisiana were adorned with bumper stickers that read "Vote For The Lizard, Not The Wizard" and "Vote For The Crook. It's Important." Edwards ended up defeating Duke in a landslide, with 61% of the vote.

SOURCE: Edwin Edwards | Wikipedia.org

Bill Clinton was the second U.S. president ever to be impeached. Who was the first?

1. Andrew Jackson
2. Andrew Johnson
3. Richard Nixon
4. Rutherford B. Hayes

Andrew Johnson was the first United States president ever to be impeached. He was Abraham Lincoln's vice president, and he took office after his predecessor's assassination. At the time, the Radical Republican party controlled congress, and they wanted to rule the defeated Confederacy as though it were a conquered province. However, Johnson offered amnesty, touching off a two-year power struggle that culminated in his impeachment. Johnson was ultimately acquitted when congress came up one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict him. No intern clothing was ever used as evidence in the trial.

SOURCE: Proceedings Of The Senate Sitting For The Trial Of Andrew Johnson | University Of Missouri Kansas City School Of Law

Who was the second vice president ever to resign from office?

1. Aaron Burr
2. Alben Barkley
3. John C. Calhoun
4. Spiro Agnew

Spiro Agnew was Richard Nixon's original vice president and the second person ever to resign the office. The first was John C. Calhoun, who served under John Quincy Adams and resigned to serve in the South Carolina legislature. Agnew, on the other hand, was forced to resign as part of a deal he negotiated in exchange for pleading no contest to a charge of tax evasion. Investigators also agreed to drop charges of extortion and bribery that had been levied against the former Maryland governor, causing that state's Attorney General to characterize the bargain as the "greatest deal since the Lord spared Isaac on the mountaintop."

SOURCE: Veep Spiro Agnew Resigns | Super70s.com

What term was coined for the excuse Dan White gave at his trial for the murder of Harvey Milk?

1. The Kobayashi Maru Scenario
2. The Left-Hand Path
3. The Twinkie Defense
4. The Way Of The Intercepting Fist

Dan White was a city supervisor in San Francisco who had resigned his seat in 1978. He tried to get his old job back, but was refused by Mayor George Moscone and city supervisor and gay-rights activist Harvey Milk. White then returned to city hall with a gun and killed both men. At his trial, the defense argued that White had suffered from diminished capacity at the time of the killings, thanks to mood swings caused by sugary junk foods that he had eaten. The jury actually believed this, and they convicted White of manslaughter instead of murder. This excuse became known as the "Twinkie Defense," a term that is still used today to describe any patently ridiculous --- but successful --- criminal defense.

SOURCE: Myth Of The 'Twinkie Defense' | SFGate.com

What was the name of the yacht made famous by former senator Gary Hart?

1. Cat Fancy
2. Dogs Playing Poker
3. Leopard Skin
4. Monkey Business

In 1987, Gary Hart was considered a lock for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. He announced his intention to pursue the presidency in April of that year, but rumors of an extramarital affair dogged him almost immediately. The Colorado senator decided to call the media's bluff. "Follow me around," he said in a New York Times interview. "If anybody wants to put a tail on me, go ahead. " The Miami Herald was only too happy to oblige. They obtained a photo of Hart sitting on a yacht called "Monkey Business" with actress Donna Rice in his lap. The photo of the leering senator ran in the National Enquirer and dealt a crippling blow to his candidacy, which never recovered.

SOURCE: "Those Aren't Rumors" | Smithsonian.com

What career did Ashley Dupré, the prostitute in the Eliot Spitzer scandal, start in December 2009?

1. Advice columnist
2. R&B singer
3. Speech therapist
4. Veterinarian

After scandal ended the political career of Eliot Spitzer, his escort Ashley Dupré was faced with a familiar problem: What should her next career move be in this tough economy? Fortunately for her, the New York Post was waiting in the wings to be her client #10. On December 13, 2009, they ran her first "Ask Ashley" column, in which the former lady of the night answered questions about disciplining rebellious teenagers, keeping a marriage happy and finding that perfect Christmas gift. So far, the column only ran one more time, but here's hoping that whatever she decides to do in the future, prostitution's answer to Ann Landers will continue to steer clear of violating the Mann act.

SOURCE: Ashley Alexandra Dupré | Wikipedia.org

How did former Pennsylvania state treasurer R. Budd Dwyer commit suicide?

1. He drove a car off a cliff
2. He overdosed on sleeping pills
3. He piloted a Cessna into a mountainside
4. He shot himself on live television

On the morning of January 22, 1987, R. Budd Dwyer called a press conference at his Harrisburg office. He had been convicted of receiving a $300,000 bribe and would be sentenced the following day. Sweaty and visibly distraught, he swore his innocence, comparing himself to "a modern-day Job." Then, he produced a .357 Magnum and shot himself, a gruesome spectacle that was carried live on Harrisburg public television. The situation was made worse by the fact that a major snowstorm had closed area schools that day, allowing children to be home in time to watch it as it unfolded. The event was later immortalized in the 1995 song "Hey Man, Nice Shot" by the alternative rock band Filter.

SOURCE: Official Calls In Press And Kills Himself | New York Times

Which of the following quotes comes from former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich?

1. "Aside from the murders, D.C. has one of the lowest crime rates in the country."
2. "I'm blacker than Barack Obama."
3. "I'm going to be 54 this year and if I had any more energy I'd scare you."
4. "You know what 'FEAR' stands for? It stands for 'False Evidence Appearing Real.'"

In a November 2009 interview with Esquire magazine, disgraced former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich opened up about his life after politics. First he talked about his dog Skittles. Next he elaborated on the joy he derived from impersonating Elvis Presley. Then he opened up about his inspiring background. "I'm blacker than Barack Obama," he said, without a shred of irony. "I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived. I saw it all growing up." Sadly, his attempt to depict himself as a hardscrabble man of the people earned him more mockery than praise, perhaps rightly so.

SOURCE: The Notorious Blago | Esquire

Your score:

• Bobby Kennedy
  You are perceived by most as scandal-free.
• John F. Kennedy
  You are perceived as somewhat scandalous.
• Ted Kennedy
  Your life is an open book, and that's not necessarily a good thing.