Presidency

Question 1

The American presidency is a unique office with elements of gret strength and profound weakness built into it by its _______

Answer 1

Constitutional origins

Question 2

How many countries have directly elected presidents?

Answer 2

16

Question 3

Of the 16 countries that directly elect their president, how many are in north and south America?

Answer 3

13

Question 4

How many nations with purely presidential systems are in Europe?

Answer 4

None

Question 5

In a parliamentary system, why site chief executive?

Answer 5

Prime minuster

Question 6

The prime minister remains in power as long as _____

Answer 6

His/her party has majority seats in the legislature

Question 7

True or false:

Presidents are often from Washington DC

Answer 7

False

Presidents are often outsiders

Question 8

Who chooses cabinet level department heads and how/why?

Answer 8

President usually chooses close personal Friends or campaign aids; chosen outside it congress

Question 9

True or false:

Presidents have guaranteed majority in the legislature

Answer 9

False

Presidents have no guaranteed majority in the legislature

Question 10

True or false:

Framers of the constitution expected conflict between the branches.

Answer 10

True

Framers of the constitution expected conflict between the branches.

Question 11

What is divided government?

Answer 11

A government in which one party controls the White House and a different party controls one or both houses of congress

Question 12

What is a unified government?

Answer 12

Same party controls the White House and both houses of congress

Question 13

True or false:

It is not clear that divided government produces a gridlock any worse that that is a unified government

Answer 13

True

It is not clear that divided government produces a gridlock any worse that that is a unified government

Question 14

Even if gridlock does exist, is it a bad thing for the country?

Answer 14

It may not be a bad thing

Question 15

What is gridlock?

Answer 15

The inability of the government to act because rival parties control different parts of the government

Question 16

A constitutional procedure by which federal judges and
civil officers can be removed from office before
their terms expire

Answer 16

impeachment

Question 17

Legislation that specifies the conditions and order of
succession to the presidency and vice presidency
when the president leaves office before completion
of his term

Answer 17

Twenty-fifth Amendment

Question 18

People who alternate between jobs in the federal

government and employment in the private sector

Answer 18

“in-and-outers”

Question 19

Presidential staff who oversee the policy interests of the

president

Answer 19

cabinet

Question 20

A statement sent to Congress by the president giving the

reasons for vetoing a bill

Answer 20

veto message

Question 21

The president’s use of his prestige and visibility to guide

or enthuse the American public

Answer 21

bully pulpit

Question 22

The chief executive in a parliamentary system who is

chosen by the legislature

Answer 22

prime minister

Question 23

Reveals what the president thinks about a new law and

how it ought to be enforced

Answer 23

signing statement

Question 24

The presidential assertion of the right to withhold certain

information from Congress

Answer 24

Executive privilege

Question 25

The organization responsible for preparing the federal budget and for central clearance of legislative proposals from federal agencies

Answer 25

Office of Management and Budget

Question 26

Agencies headed by appointees who serve for fixed terms | and can be removed only “for cause”

Answer 26

independent agencies

Question 27

A presidential refusal to spend money appropriated by | Congress

Answer 27

impoundment of funds

Question 28

Term used to describe the early months of the presidential term when popularity ratings tend to be relatively high

Answer 28

honeymoon

Question 29

Agencies that perform staff services for the president but | are not part of the White House

Answer 29

Executive Office of the President

Question 30

View of presidential decision-making which stresses what | the public wants

Answer 30

delegate

Question 31

The power of some governors (and the president in a limited way between 1996 and 1998) to veto portions of a bill instead of having to veto the entire bill

Answer 31

line-item veto

Question 32

Andrew Jackson’s view of his role as president of the | United States

Answer 32

Tribune of the People

Question 33

A legal system by which states select electors who then | vote for the president and vice president

Answer 33

electoral college

Question 34

A statement that defines the constitutional powers of the | president

Answer 34

Article II

Question 35

Term used to express concern over inefficacy in government which might result from Congress and the Presidency being controlled by members of different parties

Answer 35

gridlock

Question 36

A method of organizing a president’s staff in which several task forces, committees, and informal groups deal directly with the president

Answer 36

ad hoc structure

Question 37

A president’s council of advisers

Answer 37

White House Office

Question 38

A method of organizing a president’s staff in which several presidential assistants report directly to the president

Answer 38

circular structure

Question 39

View of presidential decision making which stresses what | the public interest requires

Answer 39

trustee

Question 40

A political system in which all or most citizens participate directly by either holding office or making policy

Answer 40

direct democracy

Question 41

A government in which one party controls the White House and another party controls one or both houses of Congress

Answer 41

divided government

Question 42

A politician who is still in office after having lost a | reelection bid

Answer 42

lame duck

Question 43

The rejection of a presidential or administrative action by a vote of one or both houses of Congress without the consent of the president

Answer 43

legislative veto

Question 44

The fringe benefits of holding an office

Answer 44

perks

Question 45

A form of veto in which the president fails to sign a bill passed by both houses within ten days and Congress has adjourned during that time

Answer 45

pocket veto

Question 46

A method of organizing a president’s staff in which most presidential assistants report through a hierarchy to the president’s chief of staff

Answer 46

pyramid structure

Question 47

A political system in which leaders and representatives acquire political power by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote

Answer 47

representative democracy

Question 48

A government in which the same party controls the White | House and both houses of Congress

Answer 48

unified government

Question 49

Democratic president Jimmy Cater could not get the Democratic-controlled Senate to ratify his strategic arms limitation treaty.

Answer 49

true

Question 50

The popularly elected president is an American invention

Answer 50

true

Question 51

Divided government has been the result of most national elections since 1952.

Answer 51

true

Question 52

Research suggests divided governments do not ratify significant treaties or pass important laws.

Answer 52

FALSE Research suggests divided governments ratify important treaties and pass important legislation about as much as any other kind of government.

Question 53

We may have had a truly unified government in 1933 and 1965. __________________________________________________________________

Answer 53

true

Question 54

In a typical presidential election, one half of all voters will vote for one party’s candidate for president and the other party’s candidate for Congress.

Answer 54

FALSE | It would be more accurate to say that about 1/4 of voters will do this.

Question 55

The general assumption of the Framers of the Constitution was that George Washington would be the first president.

Answer 55

true

Question 56

Presidential elections have never been decided by the House of Representatives

Answer 56

FALSE | They have gone to the House twice, 1800 and 1824

Question 57

George Washington limited himself to two terms

Answer 57

true

Question 58

George Washington was a strong supporter of political parties.

Answer 58

FALSE | Washington opposed the formation of political parties and condemned them often.

Question 59

Congress decided no president’s image would appear on currency until after his death

Answer 59

true

Question 60

The Nation’s early presidents made extensive use of the veto power.

Answer 60

FALSE The nation’s early president used the power rarely, and only when they thought a law violated the letter or the spirit of the Constitution.

Question 61

Although he had been elected as a military hero, Andrew Jackson had also been a member of both the House and the Senate.

Answer 61

true

Question 62

Abraham Lincoln praised Andrew Jackson’s exceptional use of executive authority.

Answer 62

FALSE | Ironically, Lincoln condemended Jackson’s use of the war power.

Question 63

Lincoln raised an army and spent money without prior approval of Congress

Answer 63

true

Question 64

Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation Act without prior congressional approval.

Answer 64

true

Question 65

From the Eisenhower years through the Reagan administration, Congress often took the lead in setting the legislative agenda.

Answer 65

true

Question 66

The Clean Air Act (1990) and the Welfare Reform Act (1996) were both bills deigned by Congress, not by the president.

Answer 66

true

Question 67

Grover Cleveland used federal troops to break a labor strike in the 1890s.

Answer 67

true

Question 68

President Carter employed the pyramid structure for organization of personal staff.

Answer 68

FALSE | Carter employed the circular structure

Question 69

Typically, senior White House staff members are drawn from the ranks of the president’s campaign staff.

Answer 69

true

Question 70

There are ten major executive departments headed by cabinet officers

Answer 70

FALSE | There are 14 major cabinet departments

Question 71

A president rarely knows more than a few of the people that he appoints.

Answer 71

true

Question 72

According to the text, much of Eisenhower’s bumbling, incoherent manner of speaking was a strategic “public disguise.”

Answer 72

true

Question 73

Richard Nixon thrived on personal confrontation and face-to-face encounters with other politicians.

Answer 73

FALSE Nixon disliked persona confrontations and tended to shield himself behind an elaborate staff.

Question 74

Presidents have made fewer and fewer impromptu remarks in the years since Franklin Roosevelt held office.

Answer 74

true

Question 75

President Roosevelt failed to “purge” members of Congress who opposed his program

Answer 75

true

Question 76

Some presidents have not experienced a “honeymoon” in the sense of initially high levels of public support and congressional compliance.

Answer 76

true

Question 77

Most state governors possess the power of the line-item veto.

Answer 77

true

Question 78

In 1996, Congress effectively gave the president the power of the line item veto with the introduction of the “enhanced rescission.”

Answer 78

true

Question 79

The Supreme Court upheld the power of the president to carve up legislation, retaining only those parts with which he is in agreement.

Answer 79

FALSE | The Supreme Court struck down the enhanced rescission created by Congress in 1996.

Question 80

The Constitution specifically requires the president to divulge private communications between himself and his principal advisors if a congressional investigation demands such information.

Answer 80

FALSE | The Constitution does not address this topic at all.

Question 81

For most of our nation’s history, there was no serious challenge to the claim of presidential confidentiality.

Answer 81

true

Question 82

The Constitution specifically requires the president to spend money that is appropriated by Congress.

Answer 82

FALSE The Constitution is silent on whether the president must spend the money that Congress appropriates.

Question 83

Signing statements were the creation of presidents in the early 1900s

Answer 83

FALSE | Signing statements date back to at least the administration of James Monroe.

Question 84

Members of Congress have encouraged presidents to accompany legislation with signing statements.

Answer 84

FALSE Members of Congress oppose such statements suspecting they can amount to a veto that cannot be formally overridden.

Question 85

The text suggests that a sixty-hour workweek is typical for a president.

Answer 85

false | A 90 hour week is typical.

Question 86

The Supreme Court has declared so-called legislative vetoes unconstitutional.

Answer 86

true

Question 87

Presidents routinely complain of what they feel is the limited scope of their power.

Answer 87

true

Question 88

In 1841, John Tyler became the first vice president to become president because of the death of his predecessor.

Answer 88

true

Question 89

The only official task of the vice president is to preside over the Senate and to vote in case of a tie.

Answer 89

true

Question 90

The Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution addresses the problem of presidential succession.

Answer 90

true

Question 91

Only two presidents have ever been impeached.

Answer 91

true