Quote of the moment: Cuban Missile Crisis

Last week White House Press Secretary Dana Perino was asked about a comparison Vladimir Putin made between the current effort towards a European missile shield and the Cuban missile crisis. She did the job of the White House press secretary and stalled and gave a non-answer answer.

Then as a guest on NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, Dana Perino admitted she stalled because she didn't understand the reference.

"I really know nothing about the Cuban missile crisis. It had to do with Cuba and missiles, I'm pretty sure."

As a history junkie, I often am surprised at what intelligent people don't know about history. But really is it too much to expect the White House press secretary, who has spent a career in politics and journalism to know at least the outlines of the Cuban missile crisis? According to her Wikipedia profile, Perino was born 10 years after this event--but still. At some point in high school history didn't she have a test with a fill in the blank question to the effect of Q. ___________________ (3 words) occurred in 1962 in the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union after spy planes discovered nuclear missiles being built in a Caribbean nation within striking distance of the United States.

(Thanks to Salon.com's War Room blog for this quote.)