It's a Miracle! Cures and Miscues in Quotation Quiz

Answer: Dean Martin

Born Dino Paul Crocetti in 1917, Dean Martin used a glass of whiskey and a cigarette as a prop in his night club act, according to imdb.com.

Snopes.com states that Dean Martin was not quite as drunk as he pretended on stage. "His son, Ricci Martin, wrote (in 'That's Amore: A Son Remembers Dean Martin', p. 55): 'While it was true that Dad drank, the drunky routines were an act. On stage, and later on the set of his TV show, Dad usually had a J&B Scotch and soda he nursed through the performance. It was almost always a weak Scotch and soda. Other times it was just apple juice.' "

Answer: Robert Dole

The quote can be seen on the clip of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" from March 8, 2000. Dole was a Senator at that time, and was speaking prior to the
Bush/Gore Presidential election of 2000. Stewart and Dole were speculating on how many debates the public would tolerate from the Presidential candidates.

I admit that the "burning bush" joke in the question was a red herring, but I must say it was accidental. I noticed later that two answers contained the word "bush" and I assure you that it was not cleverness, but only a reference to a miraculous burning bush in the Bible, and the humor hit me later.

Answer: Dan Quayle

Poor Dan Quayle. Some of the quotes attributed to him were not his. He did not say that he wished he had brushed up on Latin before going to Latin America, to help him communicate with the natives, even though that quote was attributed to him online (says snopes.com). People, however, did not have to make up funny utterances for him; he did provide material! "Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things." Now THAT was Dan Quayle! And the day he moved Phoenix to California ... well, that was him too.

Answer: Muhammad Ali

Born in 1942 in Louisville Kentucky with the name Cassius Clay, he assured us as Muhammad Ali that he floated like a butterfly. His floating wings did not carry him as fast as he wanted, however, so he had to buckle his "greatest" self into an airplane seat.

Ali made many of his own miracles with the power of positive thinking. In his book "The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey", Muhammad Ali said "If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it - then I can achieve it."

Answer: Truman Capote

Truman Capote's last book was "In Cold Blood" took him six years to research and write. In a "New York Times" interview, he called it a "non-fiction novel" and talked about the book which detailed a family murder from 1959 in Kansas (nytimes.com). The book was made into a movie in 1967 and so Capote worked with Hollywood and gave his disparaging opinion of the environment as one which sapped the intelligence of anyone living there.

Answer: William J. Clinton

The Associated Press lists at anusha.com/top-news the top 100 news items of the 20th century. The number-one story was the dropping of the Atomic Bomb and the end of World War II. The 50th ranked story was the Civil Rights March in Washington D.C. and the "I Have a Dream Speech." Now I am going to say that perhaps Bill Clinton thought the list was of "top 100 scandals" because otherwise he would have to think his bad behavior with 22-year old Monica Lewinsky and his perjury about it was on a par with Martin Luther King's famous words and actions. I like Bill Clinton, but he should not aim higher on the list.

As Golda Meir said to Moshe Dayan, "Don't be so humble; you're not that great."

Answer: Dennis Rodman

Dennis Rodman, the 6'6" (or 6'7", or 6'8", depending on your source. allheight.com vs. imdb.com) basketball player known for his fierce playing and eccentric off-court behavior, visited North Korean Kim Jong-Un twice, and espn.com said "Dennis Rodman, two months after traveling to North Korea for the second time to visit leader Kim Jong Un and conduct an exhibition basketball game, insisted in an interview with ESPN that his motives were pure." The first visit was in the midst of a diplomatic event where an American missionary (Kenneth Bae) was jailed. Rodman insisted that Jong-Un was his friend and a "great kid." Rodman however, has a problem with mathematics, and his solution to the "2+2" question was miraculous. I can't get it to work in any mathematical base.

Answer: George H. W. Bush

George H. W. Bush, father of an ex-president and an ex-governor, did say the "Opinion" statement in November of 1992 in "Spin Magazine." I am not sure of what he meant, but it sounds miraculous. The elder Bush is a very admirable man, and of the quotes attributed to him, my favorite three are the "I don't like broccoli" quote in a 1990 news conference, the "Barbara likes broccoli so she can meet the broccoli caravan coming in" (paraphrased) quote from the same news conference, and my personal favorite: "There is a God and He is good, and His love, while free, has a self imposed cost: We must be good to one another." That one was from the RNC acceptance speech in 1988. Ah. Good stuff, Papa Bush!

Answer: Yogi Berra

Lawrence Peter Berra batted left, threw right, and tossed verbal lines into left field! He was less known for his on-field chatter to the opposition. In "Baseballhall.org" we are told that "In the 1958 World Series, Yogi kept telling Hank Aaron to 'hit with the label up on the bat.' Finally Aaron turned and said 'Yogi, I came up here to hit, not to read.'

Answer: Gerald R. Ford

The web site baseball-almanac.com reported that Gerald Ford watched the presidential vote returns with his close personal friend Joe Garagiola, and that Ford was a real baseball fan. So it is possible, perhaps, that he can see the baseball diamond through the radio. I do not doubt him, no, I do not. Gerald Ford became the 38th U.S. President after the resignation of Richard Nixon, and served as president for three years. On the day he took his Oath of Office, he said "I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your President by your ballots, and so I ask you to confirm me as your President with your prayers...If you have not chosen me by secret ballot, neither have I gained office by any secret promises. I have not campaigned either for the Presidency or the Vice Presidency. I have not subscribed to any partisan platform. I am indebted to no man, and only to one woman--my dear wife--as I begin this very difficult job."