A former Tennessee senator quipped in 2002, "I am concerned about the economy. I was the first one laid off." Who?

Which former kingdom made up the western part of what is now the Czech Republic? A former monk who rose from poverty founded which Chinese dynasty in 1368? A former Rhodes Scholar, whose image as an ordinary bloke helped him become Australia's prime minister in 1983? Which former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development was Bob Dole's running mate in 1996? Which former slave, author of an 1845 autobiography, was the most prominent African American spokesman of the 1800s? A former socialist, who founded the anti-communist Fascist movement in 1919? Chișinău is the capital of which former Soviet republic? Tashkent is the capital of which former Soviet republic?