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Politics: A Matter of Opinion Trivia Quiz

Many individuals have commented on the nature of politics and politicians. I'll provide clues that should enable you to identify the person credited with the comments or answer a question about the content of the quotation.

A multiple-choice quiz by uglybird. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
uglybird

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
218,563

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
2213

Awards
Top 5% quiz!

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Otto Von Bismarck is given credit for what is perhaps the most well known definition of politics, "Politics is the art of the possible." How did the Iron Chancellor suggest a person could decide what to believe in politics? Hint

Always believe the higher placed official.

Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied.

You can always believe your government.

You can always believe your chancellor.

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Question 2 of 10

2. Economist John Kenneth Galbraith disagreed with the notion that politics is the art of the possible. Instead, Galbraith cynically insisted that politics involved a choice between which two UNDESIRABLES? Hint

The disastrous and the unpalatable

War and freedom

Peace and prosperity

Moral rectitude and economic collapse

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Question 3 of 10

3. As a Californian, I am particularly aware of the contributions that entertainment figures can make to the political scene. Which astute comedian observed that, "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it, and then misapplying the wrong remedies." Answering this should be "duck soup". Hint

Donald Sutherland

Bob Newhart

Woody Allen

Groucho Marx

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Question 4 of 10

4. Which actor, whose success as a politician (some would say) eclipsed his accomplishments as an entertainer, declared, "Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first." Hint

Ronald Reagan

Arnold Schwarzenegger

George Murphy

Charlton Heston

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Question 5 of 10

5. Not only do our public servants have their morals questioned, but their intelligence is also disparaged. How did Napoleon Bonaparte state the relationship between stupidity and politics? Hint

It is stupidity that defeats political reformers.

Stupidity is the bane of the political loser.

No successful politician can afford to be stupid.

In politics stupidity is not a handicap.

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Question 6 of 10

6. Antipathy toward politicians is hardly a new phenomenon. Which comedic Greek playwright said in the 5th century BCE: "Under every stone lurks a politician," and "You have all the characteristics of a popular politician: a horrible voice, bad breeding, and a vulgar manner"? Hint

Plato

Aristophanes

Pericles

Aristotle

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Question 7 of 10

7. Charles Dudley Warner's well-known assertion, "Politics makes strange bedfellows" was a paraphrase of a line from Shakespeare's "The Tempest", "misery acquaints a man with strange bed-fellows." What was the Shakespearean character obliged to sleep next to? (Hint: most might consider the answer to be the only choice scarier than a politician.) Hint

A woman

A monster

A dog

A fool

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Question 8 of 10

8. Perhaps politicians merely respond to the corrupting influence of the voters. How did H. L. Mencken predict a politician would respond if he found he had cannibals among his constituents? Hint

He would boldly disavow cannibalism in all its forms.

He would promise them missionaries for dinner.

He would deny that he pandered to the cannibal vote.

He would change his constituency.

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Question 9 of 10

9. Those inclined to take politics lightly should, perchance, consider the words attributed to Henry Cate VII. What did Cate reportedly say about the problem with political jokes? Hint

They give offense.

They are unfair.

They are evidence of shallow thinking.

They get elected.

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Question 10 of 10

10. Harry Truman maintained, "A politician is a man who understands government and it takes a politician to run a government." What did Truman indicate would suffice for a politician to become a statesman? (Hint: if I hadn't told you it was Truman who said this, you might have thought it was Mark Twain.) Hint

A prudent and probing concern for the future

Approaching every problem with an open mouth

Being dead for 10-15 years

Thinking about the next generation rather than the next election

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied.

In a 2002 Harris poll, members of the US congress did not rank lowest among people that could be expected to tell the truth: trade union leaders, lawyers and stockbrokers ranked lower. A BBC poll reported in March of 2005 found that 80% of 1000 people surveyed in Britain did not trust politicians to tell the truth.

Answer: The disastrous and the unpalatable

A realist, if not a cynic, Canadian-born economist John Kenneth Galbraith once noted that, "Nothing is so admirable in politics as a short memory." Always influential, but not always influential with the party in power, Galbraith advised, "There are times in politics when you must be on the right side and lose."

Answer: Groucho Marx

Ernest Benn, a British publisher and economist, is also credited with this quote - but doubtless Groucho gave it a wider audience. "Duck Soup" is one of the Marx Brother's best-known movies.

Answer: Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan was merely agreeing with his predecessor Harry Truman who reportedly said, "My choice early in life was either to be a piano-player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference." Reagan is also credited with saying, "Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book."

5. Not only do our public servants have their morals questioned, but their intelligence is also disparaged. How did Napoleon Bonaparte state the relationship between stupidity and politics?

Answer: In politics stupidity is not a handicap.

Napoleon Bonaparte once advised, "In politics... never retreat, never retract... never admit a mistake." This being his attitude toward the practice of politics, his attitude regarding stupidity and politics is hardly surprising. "Stupidity" is translated "absurdity" in some versions of Bonaparte's quote.

Answer: Aristophanes

The oldest Greek comedies were politically based and highly critical. Only Aristophane's comedies have survived. One of his best known, "Frogs", has been produced as a musical.

Answer: A monster

We might infer that the Bard had a low opinion of politicians. During one of his rants Shakespeare's King Lear says, "Get thee glass eyes; and like a scurvy politician, seem to see the things thou dost not." In "Twelfth Night", the buffoon Toby Belch lays claim to the title "politician" and later in the play Sir Andrew remarks, "I had as lief be a Brownist as a politician." FT editor Bloomsby points out that in Shakespeare's time, according to the "Oxford English Dictionary", the word "poltician" had not taken on its more modern meaning, but was confined to its original sense: "schemer, intriguer, opportunist".

8. Perhaps politicians merely respond to the corrupting influence of the voters. How did H. L. Mencken predict a politician would respond if he found he had cannibals among his constituents?

Answer: He would promise them missionaries for dinner.

P. J. O'Rourke characterized the journalistic writing style of satirist H. L. Mencken as "big-city." In fact, Mencken has been criticized as being a racist, a misogynist and an elitist. In addition to politicians, Mencken applied his biting sarcastic wit to chiropractors, Christian scientists and puritans.

9. Those inclined to take politics lightly should, perchance, consider the words attributed to Henry Cate VII. What did Cate reportedly say about the problem with political jokes?

Answer: They get elected.

Although some neither take political jokes seriously nor vote for them, there is historical precedent for taking a politician's jokes seriously. When captured by pirates, Julius Caesar remained in good humor, even jokingly telling the pirates he would have them crucified. Caesar laughed.

The pirates laughed. After his release, the noble Caesar tracked the ill-fated pirates down... and had them crucified.

Answer: Being dead for 10-15 years

Harry Truman had an appreciation for the value of political shrewdness in governing. It was Adlai Stevenson who felt a willingness to expound on any topic marked the statesman. The idealistic Hubert Humphrey connected statesmanship with a concern for posterity. Minister James Clark agreed with Mr. Humphrey that, whereas the politician focused on reelection, the statesman had a regard for future generations.

Source: Author uglybird

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