Intelligent Congressman -- An oxymoron?

[Carolynn]

A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE KIND OF REPRESENTATION WE HAVE IN CONGRESS:

A noted psychiatrist was a guest speaker at an academic function where a
congressman happened to appear. The congressman took the opportunity to
schmooze the
good doctor a bit and asked him a question with which he was most at ease.

'Would you mind telling me, Doctor,' he asked, 'how do you detect a mental
deficiency in somebody who appears completely normal?'

'Nothing is easier,' he replied. 'You ask a simple question which anyone
should answer with no trouble. If the person hesitates, that puts you on
the track.'

'What sort of question?' asked the congressman.

Well, you might ask, 'Captain Cook made three trips around the world and
died during one of them. Which one?'

The congressman thought a moment, and then said with a nervous laugh,
'You wouldn't
happen to have another example would you? I must confess I don't know much
about history.'