... woman whose name I am currently freezing about!! Arrrgghhh!!!! If someone else remembers, can you chip in? I will investigate and edit.

Diane Rehm - spasmodic dysphonia

Or something like that?

I think that is just the way she talks.

but I believe she suffers from a form of Parkinson's disease. Just a guess on my part of course....I have ZERO medical training.

I noticed Bobby's sis Rory speaks the same way...perhaps genetics.

And they are both in positions that require a lot of speaking. Apparently it affects more women.

and pronounces every syllable in monotone

he always spoke that way....poor Bernstein !!

Obviously he's as smart as they come, but he spoke too slowly and he was the same way with his buzzer.

I found an article:
Beltway celebs sweat details in 'Jeopardy!'

<snip>

Actually, it was the reflexes, not the brain, that stymied Woodward on occasion. Two answers directly related to him: "Deep Throat" and "All the President's Men" (the movie in which Robert Redford stars as Woodward), and both times he was beaten to the buzzer.

http://articles.latimes.com/2004/may/11/entertainment/et-frey11