John Neely Kennedy is the junior U.S. senator from Louisiana who was a key member of Gov. Buddy Roemer’s staff before being elected to five terms as the state treasurer.
Foghorn J. Leghorn is an animated chicken who appeared as a featured character in Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons for Warner Bros. Pictures.
Kennedy graduated magna cum laude in political science, philosophy, and economics from Vanderbilt, where he was president of his senior class and elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia and his Bachelor of Civil Law degree from Oxford University in England where he was a First Class Honors graduate.
Leghorn starred in 29 cartoons from 1946 to 1964 in what is considered the Golden Age of American Animation, usually tormenting a dog named Dawg while fending off attacks from a feisty young chicken hawk named Henery Hawk.
There is practically no way to get the two confused ... unless you are just reading what they have said. Then, it gets a little tricky.
Sen. Kennedy and Mr. Leghorn both prefer to express themselves through colorful colloquialisms and downhome sayings. One does so to make you think he's wise, the other to make you think he's a country rube. Or, as the senator puts it, "They call me folksy. I think that means they're surprised I have a college degree."
Think you can tell the difference between Sen. John Neely Kennedy and Foghorn J. Leghorn? Take this quiz, intended as a tribute to the rhetorical skills of both Kennedy and Leghorn.
Tim Morris is a columnist on the Latitude team at NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Latitude is a place to share opinions about the challenges facing Louisiana. Follow @LatitudeNOLA on Facebook and Twitter. Write to Tim at tmorris@nola.com.
