How much do you really know about Romney and Ryan? -- Aug. 23, 2012 quiz column

The elephants are coming! The Republican National Convention opens Monday in Tampa with the official job of ratifying the GOP’s choice of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan as the 2012 presidential ticket.

The donkeys won’t be far behind. The Democratic National Convention will convene Sept. 3 in Charlotte in hopes of renewing the White House lease for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

They’ve been around seemingly forever, but how much do you really know about the men who want to run the country? Test your political trivia savvy with our presidential bio quizzes.

Today, check yourself on Team Double-R -- Romney and Ryan. Ten questions and answers are below. No peeking, Googling or consulting your favorite Super PAC.

Next week, come back to gauge your knowledge about Democratic Duo Obama and Biden.

Let’s get started.

1: A poll earlier this year found that 2 percent of people thought Mitt Romney’s real first name was Mittens. (Wrong.) What is Romney’s real first name?

A. Mitchell

B. Milton

C. Willard

D. William



2. Mitt Romney may have inherited his love for politics from his dad, George Romney, three-time governor of Michigan and unsuccessful presidential candidate, and his mom. Lenore Romney lost her one bid for public office. What office did she seek?

A. City school board

B. City Council

C. U.S. House of Representatives

D. U.S. Senate



3: What is Mitt Romney’s Chicago connection?

A. His was born in Chicago.

B. His uncle played for the Chicago Bears.

C. He attended the University of Chicago.

D. He lived next door to Barack Obama.



4: What was Mitt Romney’s college major?

A. English

B. Political science

C. French

D. Finance



5: How many sons, daughters and grandchildren in all do Mitt and Ann Romney have?

A. Three sons, two daughters and 25 grandchildren

B. Three sons and 12 grandchildren

C. Five sons and 18 grandchildren

D. Who can count that high?



6: What do Paul Ryan and Romney’s eldest son have in common?

A. They are married to sisters.

B. They are both members of Congress.

C. They are the same age.

D. They co-wrote a sequel to Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged.”



7: Paul Ryan is known to sleep on a cot in his Washington office. What else is true?

A. He’s a fan of P90X workout program.

B. He was a physical trainer after college.

C. He has said he has 6 percent to 8 percent body fat.

D. All of the above.



8. Romney shuns alcohol and caffeine. What did Ryan say was his worst habit?

A. Tosses back a six pack a night

B. Addicted to love

C. Drinks two cups of coffee every morning

D. Smokes cigarettes



9. The political roots of Janna Ryan, wife of Paul, run deep. What are they?

A. She ran unsuccessfully for Congress.

B. Her grandfather ran for president and her cousin is a U.S. senator.

C. Her grandfather ran for governor, her uncle was governor and a U.S. senator, and her cousin is a U.S. House member.

D. Her grandmother helped form the American Party supporting George Wallace and later ran for governor.



10. A constituent offered Paul Ryan something special if he’d run for president in 2012. Was it:

A. A chain of fitness centers to be named Paul Ryan’s Extreme Experience

B. Free colonoscopies for members of Ryan’s family for life

C. A McDonald’s lifetime coupon good for one free burger, fries and shake every day

D. Unlimited free coffee for a year



BONUS QUESTION: Name the five Romney kids.





ANSWERS

1: C. Romney was named after family friend and hotel magnate J. Willard Marriott.

2. D. When Lenore Romney ran for Senate in 1970, women senators were rare and she would have been only the third woman ever elected to serve a full Senate term. “It was disappointing to find so many people closed their minds just because I was a woman,” she said.

3. B. Romney’s middle name honors his uncle, Milton “Mitt” Romney, star quarterback for the Bears in the 1920s.



4. A. An English major at Brigham Young University, class of ’71, Romney advises today’s English majors to plan on graduate school. He earned dual degrees from Harvard Law and Harvard Business School.



5. C. If elected, Romney will be the first president since George H.W. Bush to have sons. Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama have only daughters.



6. C. Ryan and Taggart “Tagg” Romney are both 42. Mitt Romney is 65.



7. D. A fitness buff, Ryan, 6-feet 2 and 163 pounds, leads morning sessions of the P90X muscle-building program on Capitol Hill.



8. C. Ryan admits coffee is his vice. Romney has indulged in coffee ice cream.



9. C. Janna Ryan’s grandfather, Reuel W. Little, helped form the American Party in Oklahoma in the 1960s to support former Alabama Gov. George Wallace’s presidential bid. Little ran for governor on the American Party in 1970. Janna Ryan’s uncle, David Boren, a Democrat, served as senator and governor of Oklahoma. Her cousin is Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla.



10. B. A gastroenterologist in Ryan’s congressional district offered Ryan’s family free colonoscopies for life if Ryan would run for president. “That seals it,” Ryan deadpanned, the National Review Online reported.





BONUS: Tagg, Matt, Josh, Ben and Craig. One point for each correct answer.



SCORING: 85 to 100 – Congratulations! You’re so savvy you could be family.

70 to 85 – Political pro. Angling for a job in the Romney White House?

55 to 70 – Author, author. You could write a book.

40 to 55 – No slacker, your knowledge exceeds that of most bloggers.

25 to 40 – Tweet away. You certainly have 140 characters’ worth of insight.

Below 25 – Too busy leading your own life for politics? You have time to brush up.



--Compiled by Marsha Mercer

Sources: Associated Press, ABC News, biography.com, Boston Herald, CBS News, CNN, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, mittromney.com, NBC News, National Review Online, New York Times, paulryan.house.gov, Politico, The Atlantic Wire, The Oklahoman, Tulsa World.

© Marsha Mercer 2012. All rights reserved.