AP Gov. & Pol. Presidential Communication

Examine the graph and answer the question below. *Graph of 'Average State of the Union address length, by president'* 1.) Which of the following best describes a trend in the line graph above? 2.) Which of the following is an accurate conclusion based on a comparison of the trends in the line graph and your knowledge of presidential communication strategies?

1.) State of the Union addresses have become longer over time 2.) Presidents have increased the length of their State of the Union messages to make the most of the opportunity to influence the electorate directly

"In addition to educating the country, [President Barack Obama's] goal is to frame the political debate and set an agenda that the next Democratic presidential nominee can run on next year—an agenda that Obama hopes will put opposition Republicans at a big disadvantage. Obama has been getting lots of attention for bypassing the Republican-controlled Congress and using his unilateral powers, such as executive orders, to get his way. But his power to persuade is another vital weapon in the president's arsenal, since he can command media and public attention almost whenever he wants." -Kenneth T. Walsh, U.S. News & World Report, 2015 1.) The strategy described in the passage above is an example of which of the following? 2.) Which of the following statements best summarizes the author's argument?

1.) The bully pulpit 2.) The president's ability to command media attention gives him an advantage in shaping the national policy agenda

Which of the following best explains how a president would use a bully pulpit to achieve policy goals?

By appealing directly to the public, the president hopes members of the public will influence their representatives to support those policy goals

Which of the following statements explains how social media has enhanced the power of the presidency?

It gives the president a direct line of communication to the national constituency to influence national policy

Which of the following explains how modern technology has changed the president's ability to respond to political issues?

It has made it easier for the president to rapidly respond to political issues by appealing directly to the public

"Amid this much-changed communication landscape, the lingering question of whether the untapped wisdom of the public should be harnessed in governmental decisions suddenly commanded a fresh look, as social media increased the capability of governments worldwide to more fully involve ordinary citizens in policymaking." -M. Barris, A. Jain, and J. Katz, The Social Media President: Barack Obama and the Politics of Political Engagement, 2013 Based on the text, which of the following statements would the authors most likely agree with?

Social media has changed the president's relationship with the national constituency by involving more citizens in policymaking decisions

*Chart of 'Percent watching or listening to Bush post-9/11 speech on terrorism'* Which of the following statements is reflected in the data in the table above?

Technology such as broadcast media gives the president an avenue to rapidly respond to a majority of American citizens about political issues

Examine the graphs and answer the question below. *'Presidential approval ratings over time, based on sample responses to the question "Do you approve or disapprove of the way [the president] is handling his job as president?"'* Which of the following is an accurate conclusion based on a comparison of the trends in the line graphs?

The increased speed of communication has led to more rapid changes in public perception of the president

Which of the following scenarios is an example of the president using the bully pulpit approach to achieve policy goals?

The president appeals to the American public to contact their representatives and urge them to support increased military spending

*Picture of a Tweet from President Obama 'Nearly 1 in 3 American families struggle to afford diapers. We're working with the private sector to help fix this.'* Which of the following explains how President Obama is using social media to affect policy in the example above?

To inform American citizens of his policy goals