Fitz is presented with a scooter at “Wait Wait ...Don’t Tell Me!” taping

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: A Prosecutor Out of Character on the Air
By MONICA DAVEY
Published: July 21, 2007

CHICAGO, July 20 — The public comments of Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, lean toward sober recitation of criminal indictments. Count 1, Count 2, Count 3, ticked off in all their dryness, sometimes with no notes, certainly with no banter.

So when word spread that Mr. Fitzgerald, in all his discreetness, had agreed to take part in a radio game show this week, thousands of Chicagoans packed the city’s front lawn, Millennium Park, in curiosity and disbelief. City officials estimated the crowd, squinting to get a look at Mr. Fitzgerald, who sat awkwardly in a green arm chair at the center of a stage, at 10,000. Even Mr. Fitzgerald’s own aides seemed at a loss when asked why he had agreed to come here.

“He doesn’t say much, so I guess like everyone else, we are curious about what he has to say,” Peter Sagal, the host of “Wait Wait ...Don’t Tell Me!” explained before taping the National Public Radio show, which will be broadcast this weekend. “This is the biggest Chicago guy or gal there is, with the possible exception of Oprah.”...

***

Even here, among a cheering, eager crowd, Mr. Fitzgerald revealed little. He said he would not pursue a career in politics. He said his reputation as a workaholic was exaggerated, while admitting that he had indeed once forgotten lasagna in his oven for three months. He sidestepped a question about his place on a People magazine roster of sexiest men. Along the way, he wavered from mildly embarrassed to bemused to earnest.

When it came to Mr. Libby, whose nickname is Scooter, Mr. Fitzgerald smilingly avoided all questions related to the case (including an inquiry that professed to address his drive to the courthouse from Chicago’s North Side: “How do you feel about commuting?”). He answered quiz questions promoted as having nothing to do with his line of work, but which managed to allude to all sorts of scooters. And he was presented with a parting gift — a scooter etched with the words “This one will stay where you put it.”...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/21/us/21chicago.html

[Up2Late]

1. Oh, I hope they didn't spoil the quiz results in this article, like NPR did on ATC.

I Can't believe Nina Totenberg did that, she reveled how he did on the Quiz, which doesn't air until sometime after 11:00am EST Saturday Morning! Grrr.:grr:

I won't spoil it, but if you want to spoil it for yourself, here the link to the audio: <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12131206>

[DeepModem Mom]

2. The article doesn't say anything about the quiz part of the taping -- no spoilers! nt