Reading Jake Tapper's article about Karenna Gore, I was struck by the fundamentally self-contradictory nature of the attempt to find the "real" character of any public figure. In order to be seen as "real human beings," celebrities have to develop a private-seeming public persona that's inevitably somewhat "canned" and calculated. Why do we insist that these people bare their souls for us? Why do we think that they should have no wish to protect their inner lives from obsessive, and pointless, scrutiny? Of course they "reinvent" themselves for the camera, the interview, the profile. Wouldn't you?
-- Janet Lafler
Loved this piece. While Karenna didn't score all that well, I think she gets big points for candor and being a good sport. Can you ever imagine the Bush girls, or, for a real showstopper, Mary Cheney, taking a quiz like this? Give Karenna a little break.
-- Brian Nelson
"Schiff may want to devote more time on the totally unconstructive and useless pursuits of her generational peers."
Sorta like George W. was doing 20 years ago? So she can run for prez 20 years from now?
-- Dave Woodworth
While I would never claim to be a friend of the Democrats, the "Gen X" quiz thrown at Karenna Gore Schiff seems hardly fair. Heck, I'm 28 and I might have gotten a C- on that quiz.
"Slacker"? Never even heard of that movie until this survey. "Dazed and Confused"? Heard of it, never saw it. Spider eggs in Bubble Yum? Never heard that one growing up in New Jersey.
Where were the questions about Scooby Doo? Or the day the Challenger exploded? Or the year Chernobyl melted down? Or the day Reagan was shot (that one might be pushing it)? How about, "Who directed 'Clerks'?" Enough happened in the '80s and '90s to stump any Gen-Xers, even those obsessed with TV and the movies.
I can't agree with her political philosophy, but it sounds like Karenna's pretty much an average Gen-Xer. Is she leadership material? Ultimately, that depends on her ideas and convictions, not her grasp of useless trivia.
-- Ken Newquist
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