December 12, 2007

Are you smarter than a White House Press Secretary?

How can you stay mad at a sweet, if ignorant, face like that?

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino put her cute little foot in her mouth over the weekend after appearing on NPR's "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me," the radio comedy show for smart people who prefer it when comedy makes them feel smart rather than makes them laugh. Retelling an anecdote about a recent press briefing, Perino volunteered that she had no idea what the Cuban Missile Crisis was. Said the adorable minx, "It had to do with Cuba and missiles, I'm pretty sure."

While some admirers of the perky, professional yet sexy administration mouthpiece were willing to laugh off her ignorance, others see her lack of historical knowledge as grounds for dismissal. But everything's relative, and so 23/6 asks: Are you smarter than a White House Press Secretary?

Can you match the actual historical event with Dana Perino's description of it? Click and drag at the bottom of the page to reveal the answers.

1. New Deal
2. Red Scare
3. Glasnost and Perestroika
4. Boston Tea Party
5. Sherman Anti-trust Act
6. Bull Run
7. Monroe Doctrine
8. Hawaiian statehood
9. The Minutemen
10. Marbury v. Madison
11. Sacco & Vanzetti

a. Annual rodeo event in Texas
b. Far too many of the guys I've dated, LOL
c. That show hosted by Howie Mandel, who is way hotter bald.
d. The case of the Knicks' point guard and that intern he lured to his SUV.
e. Marilyn's tips on how to get ready in the morning.
f. Weird guitars I saw somebody play in a restaurant when I went to Greece with my sorority sisters.
g. Um, only the hottest designers in Milan at the moment. Their jeans are, like, essential.
h. That one time I got my period when I was wearing white jeans.
i. Ugh, another baby shower for my friend who went to Northeastern.
j. Awesome cocktail!!!
k. The first couple seasons of "The Jeffersons" when Sherman Hemsley felt mistrusted by his all-white neighbors after he and Weezie moved into a deluxe apartment in the sky.