Based on her recent speech in Iowa, a certain former two-thirds term governor has been turning to James Joyce for inspiration. There’s so much overlap in the stream of consciousness of Wasilla’s hockey mom and Dublin’s Bloomsday Boy that sometimes it’s hard to tell her style from Ulysses. Take this quiz and see if you can.

1. Our house

a. We want no more strangers in our house.

b. This is our house, get the hell out.

2. Good = bad

a. From bad comes good. That has been one of my mantras. From very bad comes very good.

b. It was revealed to me that those things are good which yet are corrupted which neither if they were supremely good not unless they were good could be corrupted.

3. Latin phrases

a. So we can afford no retreads. Or nothing will change, with the same people and the same policies that got us into this status quo. Another Latin word, status quo.

b. It’s a damnably foul lie, showing the moral rottenness of the man! We have here damning evidence, the corpus delicti, my lord . . .

4. The backs on which a nation is built

a. We win with the wonderful immigrants who have built the country legally.

b. That’s the great empire they boast about of drudges and whipped serfs.

5. Lipstick . . .

a. Esthetics and cosmetics are for the boudoir.

b Incognito. It means, for me, no makeup.

6. . . . On a pig

a. Weasels, you know. Yeah! They’re howlin’, howlin’ through the press that, you know, ‘Cruelty to animals, Sarah Palin,’ which surprised me considering what it does that Joni does to those poor, defenseless, really great tastin’ Iowa hogs.

b. And by that way wend the herds innumerable of bellwethers and flushed ewes . . . and sowpigs and baconhogs and the various different varieties of highly distinguished swine and Angus heifers . . .

7. Truth

a. We don’t underestimate the wisdom of the people when we on offense give them the truth . . .

b. I am out for truth. Plain truth for a plain man.

8. Finger pointing

a. You know why? Palm oil. Is that a fact? Without a doubt. Well now, look at that. And America they say is the land of the free.

b. Disgusting charges from the left, reverse them. It is they who point a finger, not really—they have tripled the amount of fingers pointed back at them.

9. Dunderheads and jerks

a. It was mooted, was once more on the tapis in the circumlocution departments with the usual quantity of red tape and dillydallying of effete fogeydom and dunderheads generally.

b. What it really came down to was our message to those who don’t understand again the opportunity they have to do whatever the heck they want to do even if they are jerks.

10. The connection between hope and evil

a. We give hope to the people that we need not, we will not, succumb to evil.

b. Battling against hopelessness is a necessary evil.

LEGEND

Joyce (1, a; 2, b; 3, b; 4, b; 5, a; 6, b; 7, b; 8, a; 9, a; 10, b)

Note: All Palin quotes taken from the closed captioned transcript on C-SPAN. They may contain some mistakes, but who would know?