Great Political Insults: Part 2 Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. "What makes him think a middle-aged actor, who's played with a chimp, could have a future in politics?" Which aspiring politician was described in these words?

Answer: Clint Eastwood

Ronald Reagan made the comment on Clint Eastwood's bid to become mayor of Carmel, California, with a tongue-in-cheek reference to his own career. And, yes, Eastwood did become mayor, in 1986.

2. Of which near-legendary figure was it said: " ---- is the type of man who thinks that when he gets to Heaven, God will step down from the great white throne and bow him into His vacated seat"?

Answer: Douglas MacArthur

Harold Ickes (1874-1952) said it of MacArthur. Ickes served as US Secretary of the Interior for 13 years, from 1933 to 1946. Although a Republican, he served under Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Douglas MacArthur (1880 - 1964) was a soldier very sure of his own brilliance.

He is credited with the saying "In war, there is no substitute for victory". Much of his service in WW2 was in the Pacific theatre, indeed he fought in three of America's most bloody 20th century conflicts, WWI, WW2 and the Korean War.

3. "If Gladstone fell into the Thames, that would be a misfortune, and if someone pulled him out, that I suppose, would be a calamity." I don't think there was any love lost between insulted and insulter, but which British Prime Minister made these remarks about a bitter political opponent?

Answer: Benjamin Disraeli

William Ewart Gladstone served four terms as British Prime Minister (3rd December 1868 to 17th February 1874; 23rd April 1880 to 9th June 1885; 1st February 1886 to 20th July 1886; and 15th August 1892 to 2nd March 1894)

Disraeli had two terms (27th February 1868 to 1st December 1868; and 20th February 1874 to 21st April 1880). Gladstone was a Liberal and Disraeli a Conservative.

4. "If he became convinced tomorrow that coming out for cannibalism would get him the votes he surely needs, he would begin fattening a missionary in the White House backyard come Wednesday". Of which US President was this a cutting analysis?

Answer: Franklin Roosevelt

Henry Louis "H. L." Mencken was the man who shot from the lip. Mencken (born 12th September 1880, died 29th January 1956) was an American journalist and satirist. He was a controversial figure, as satirists no doubt are expected to be. Among his other quips were "A good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar"; "A national political campaign is better than the best circus ever heard of, with a mass baptism and a couple of hangings thrown in"; and "An idealist is one who, on noticing that roses smell better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup."

5. "She has the mouth of Marilyn Monroe and the eyes of Caligula." Of which political leader was this said?

Answer: Margaret Thatcher (Great Britain)

French president Fran�ois Mitterrand said it of Margaret Thatcher, who was Prime Minister from 1979-1990. Margaret (later Baroness) Thatcher was the renowned "Iron Lady". An unbending leader, when challenged to reverse what was perceived to be a disastrous economic policy, Thatcher famously said: "To those waiting with baited breath for that favourite media catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only one thing to say: 'You turn if you want to.

The lady's not for turning!' ".

6. "His head rattles as he walks" was one commentator's judgment of an American political leader. Which one?

Answer: John McCain

Another cutting soundbite from Gore Vidal. [Source: 'The South Bank Show', London, May 2008].

Asked by Melvin Bragg if either Barrack Obama or Hillary Clinton could beat McCain, Vidal replied: " You [Bragg] could beat McCain. I've never met anyone in America who has the slightest respect for him. He went to a private school and came bottom of his class. He smashed up his aeroplane and became a prisoner of war, which he is trying to parlay into 'war hero' ". John McCain won the right to be the Republican Party's challenger in the 2008 US Presidential Elections.

7. Sometimes the insulted turns the tables on the insulter. Which political leader was told: "Sir, if you were my husband I would poison your drink," and replied: "Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it"?

Answer: Winston Churchill

Lady Astor was the woman taken aback. On another occasion she said to him: "Winston, you're drunk". He replied: "But I shall be sober in the morning and you, madam, will still be ugly. " Churchill's repartee was legendary. George Bernard Shaw once wrote to him about a new play saying: "I have pleasure in enclosing two tickets for the opening night for you and a friend - if you have one." Churchill replied: "I regret that I am not available on the opening night and am returning the tickets. I would however be grateful for tickets for the second night - if you have one."

8. Which Australian political leader was described in these less than flattering terms: "He's like a shiver waiting for a spine ... Debating with him is like being flogged by a warm lettuce"?

Answer: John Hewson

Paul Keating said it. He represented the Australian Labor Party and was Prime Minister from December 1991 to March 1996. John Hewson was the federal leader of the Australian Liberal Party, and Opposition Leader, from April 1990 to May 1994.

9. The political commentator Gore Vidal called him: "One of our worst Presidents". Of which US leader was this a blunt assessment?

Answer: John F. Kennedy

JFK may have enjoyed huge public popularity, but many commentators had the knives out for him. Gore Vidal called him "one of our worst Presidents". [Source: 'The South Bank Show', London, May 2008].

"He wanted the Presidency and his father bought it for him" Vidal said in the same televised interview with Melvin Bragg. Lyndon Johnson described JFK as: "The enviably attractive nephew who sings an Irish ballad for the company and then winsomely disappears before the table clearing and dishwashing begin."

10. "I believe that ________ can make this country what it once was - an Arctic region covered with ice." Which US president was the comedian Steve Martin describing?

Answer: Ronald Reagan

Poor Ronald Reagan, the butt of so many jokes while he was in office. The 40th President had two checkered terms in office, and historians and commentators continue to debate whether his success in facing down the Soviet monolith outweighed the gaffes and controversies of those eight years in office.

Source: Author darksplash

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

As an offering to those who enjoyed my first quiz on political insults, here are some more pithy remarks about the great and the good. If you laugh at any, remember that the trouble with political jokes is that they sometimes get elected.

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