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Friday, October 25, 2019

Why is "Adios, Mofo" famous in Texas?

The answer is abc13 KTRK's Ted Oberg


With former Governor of Texas Rick Perry resigning from his cabinet position in the Department of Energy, one thing comes to mind.

"Adios, Mofo."

That was then Governor Perry's famous line from 2005.

Last night, I played the clip of Perry's famous line for my wife and then texted to my politically astute friend in Big D. 

Then today, I was listening to the Houston Chronicle's excellent podcast the Texas Take where host Scott Braddock of The Quorum Report even uttered the phrase!

That was a sign I needed to write a post about this. 

Besides, many Houston TV journalists were in high school or college when this happened last decade. It will be a good history lesson.

So just why did Perry say this? 

Now is the point where I attempt to copy TENGA's Verify series to get to the bottom of it.

The answer is abc13 KTRK reporter Ted Oberg.

In the above video, you can watch how Oberg was interviewing Perry about his new education plan and trying to get the scoop ahead of time on the details.

Perry wouldn't budge.

The interview ends, but channel 13 is still taping (yes, Beta SP tape back then) the satellite feed where Perry thinks he's off mic and says the line to someone off camera. 

It appears Perry was mocking Oberg's attempts at getting him to spill the beans on the plan before the official announcement.

History was made.

According to my own blog post from 2006, Texas Monthly even put the quote on its cover later on.


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Ted Oberg takes home first Dave Ward Media Excellence Award





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