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Article: Liars, Then and Now, Fly High on Borrowed Wings.(Pres Clinton compared to quiz show scandal figure Charles Van Doren)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Insight on the News
- Article date:
- June 7, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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There is a great line from a speech given in the late 1950s -- a line that could serve as our modern-day epitaph. It's a short, eight-word sentence that seems to capture the entire worth of the baby-boomer generation and beyond. This sentence is embarrassingly accurate in its insight and appropriately uncomplicated in form and style.
The line is contained in a speech given by Charles Van Doren who, on Dec. 5, 1956, as a contestant on the television quiz show 21, unfairly was supplied with answers to questions prior to their delivery. Van Doren at first denied any knowledge or involvement in the scandal, but after being subpoenaed by a congressional committee he ...