Chapter 14: The Presidency
Which elastic clause has been a significant source of presidential power?
"Take care that the laws be faithfully executed"
The president's salary is approximately ________ per year.
$400,000
"Unified government" may have been present when
(Both A and B) Roosevelt was president in 1933. Johnson was president in 1965.
Which of the following statements concerning recent party gains and losses in the House and Senate is incorrect?
(None of the above) The Republicans lost seats in the House in 2000. The Republicans lost seats in the Senate in 2000. The Republicans gained seats in the House in 2004. The Republicans gained seats in the Senate in 2004.
Abraham Lincoln __________ without prior congressional approval.
(did all of the above) raised an army spent money blockaded Southern ports suspended the right of habeas corpus
The Constitution requires that the president be a resident of the United States for at least ____ years.
14
The last time a candidate won a majority of the Electoral College without winning the popular vote was
2000
In order to win the presidency today, a candidate must win ______ electoral votes.
270
The Constitution requires that the president be at least ____ years old.
35
More than twenty-five hundred presidential vetoes have been made since 1789. Congress has overridden about what percentage of these?
4 percent
President Clinton's use of task forces, committees, and informal groups of friends and advisers is characteristic of which method of staff organization?
Ad hoc
Andrew Jackson came to the presidency with which of the following experiences?
All of the above (Member of the House of Representatives Member of the U.S. Senate Military hero)
_________ did not hold national office before becoming president.
All of the above (Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush)
The personality of which president began to alter the relationship between the president and Congress and the nature of presidential leadership?
Andrew Jackson
Prior to the 1850s, the president who made the most vigorous use of the veto power was
Andrew Jackson.
The Framers assumed that under the Electoral College system, most presidential elections would be decided in the House. Why did this not turn out to be the case?
Because political parties ended up playing a major role in producing nationwide support for a slate of national candidates
Which president was elected as a centrist Democrat but immediately pursued liberal policies?
Bill Clinton
The first plan suggested at the Constitutional Convention called for the president to be chosen by
Congress
Which president generally proposed very little in Congress?
Eisenhower
George Washington limited himself to two terms, and no president served more until
Franklin Roosevelt.
The classic example of the honeymoon phenomenon was
Franklin Roosevelt.
Which of the following statements is incorrect?
George W. Bush entered office with an approval rating similar to the initial rating of Bill Clinton. Bush had the highest disapproval rating of any president since such polling began. Bush's approval ratings for the first six months were quite typical of post-1960 presidents. Bush received the highest approval rating ever recorded in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11. (None of the above)
The use of the veto power was a conspicuous feature of the administration of
Grover Cleveland.
Which statement best characterizes George W. Bush's use of the veto power?
He used it very rarely.
The Framers of the Constitution generally expected that the __________ would ultimately decide the winner of presidential elections.
House
A bill is passed to the president for action while Congress is still in session. After ten days he or she has still not approved it. What happens to the bill?
It becomes law.
Which president considered himself an "outsider" and boasted of it?
Jimmy Carter
The result of the Supreme Court's ruling in United States v. Nixon was that
Nixon was forced to hand over the disputed tapes and papers.
Which of the following statements is incorrect?
None of the above (Lyndon Johnson could not get many Democrats to support his war policy. Jimmy Carter had a hard time getting Democrats to ratify his strategic arms limitation treaty. Bill Clinton had difficulty getting Democrats to support his policy on gays in the military. Bill Clinton had difficulty getting Democrats to support his health proposals.)
which of the following statements is incorrect?
None of the above. (Lincoln was elected with less than 40 percent of the popular vote. As a member of the Whig Party, Lincoln stood for limiting presidential power. Lincoln opposed America's entry into the Mexican War. Lincoln was critical of Andrew Jackson's use of executive power.)
The most important agency in the Executive Office of the President in terms of providing administrative assistance is the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
When President Reagan appointed a chief of staff in 1985, he was acting according to what model of organization?
Pyramidal
The major test of presidential power with respect to impoundment of funds came in the administration of
Richard Nixon.
President ____________ attempted to purge members of Congress who opposed his programs.
Roosevelt
Which of the following statements is incorrect?
State electors assemble in Washington to cast their ballots.
Which of the following statements concerning signing statements is incorrect?
Such statements are popular with Congress.
Which of the following statements about presidential elections thrown into the House of Representatives is incorrect?
The House chooses one of the top two candidates.
The legitimacy of the office of president was aided during the years of the first presidents by which of the following?
The minimal role played by the early government
Presidents are now limited to two terms by the
Twenty-second Amendment.
Which individual described the business of the president as "usually not much above routine" and mostly "mere administration"?
Woodrow Wilson
Which president was one of the first to argue for a presidential legislative program?
Woodrow Wilson
From the examples of Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln, one learns that emergency conditions and ________ can offer presidents opportunities for substantial increases in power.
a popular and strong-willed personality
On the issue of a president's right to impound funds, the U.S. Constitution says
a. that a president must spend the money that Congress appropriates. b. that a president does not have to spend money that Congress appropriates. c. that a president may spend money that Congress does not appropriate. d. that a president may spend money that Congress does not appropriate if congressional leaders support such expenditures. (e. nothing.)
Most Americans believe we should _______ the Electoral College.
abolish
Customarily, the members of the president's cabinet are
all of the above (close friends, campaign aides, representatives of important constituencies, experts on various policy issues)
Alexander Hamilton stood at the Constitutional Convention and gave a five-hour speech calling for
an elective monarchy.
If you are an ambitious member of the British Parliament, prudence will dictate that you
avoid displeasing the leader of your party.
The text cites the 1946 Marshall Plan and the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to illustrate that
both were produced by divided governments.
When the president uses the prestige and visibility of the office to guide or mobilize the American people, we say that he/ she is using the
bully pulpit.
How successful presidents are with legislation in Congress is difficult to gauge because they
can keep their victory score high by not taking a position on any controversial measure.
The Framers solved the problem of how to elect the president by
creating the Electoral College
From the time of winning office to the time of leaving it, the popularity of most recent presidents
decreased except at election time.
The presidential character of Richard Nixon was exemplified by
deep suspicion of the media.
Given the distribution of electoral votes, a candidate could possibly win the presidency with as few as ____ states.
eleven
The cause of those who argued for a single, elected president at the Constitutional Convention was, no doubt, aided by the fact that
everybody assumed that George Washington would be the first president.
When President Franklin Roosevelt gave the impression of self-confidence and being on top of things, the audience that was most likely to perceive him as effective was comprised of
fellow politicians and leaders.
The presidential character of Ronald Reagan was exemplified by
giving wide latitude to subordinates.
The presidential audiences listed by Richard Neustadt include all of the following except
heads of state from around the world.
Under the original provisions of the U.S. Constitution, the states were to choose presidential electors
however they wished.
Until the 1930s, the pattern of U.S. legislation was that
initiative was taken by Congress and responded to by the president.
If a bill has been pocket vetoed,
it cannot be brought back to life by Congress. it does not carry over to the next session. it must start over entirely in the next session. (options A, B, and C are true.)
More recent presidents have rarely been ______ just before becoming president.
legislators
Members of Congress argue that signing statements are the equivalent of the
line-item veto.
An obvious and important difference between a president and a prime minister is that the latter always has
majority support in parliament.
Veto power and executive privilege give a president both a way of blocking action and a
means of forcing Congress to bargain.
The Senate is required to confirm all of the following presidential nominations except
members of the White House Office.
The text observes that the delegates to the Constitutional Convention feared
monarchy and anarchy about equally.
Personality plays a more important role in explaining the presidency than it does in explaining Congress because a president is
more likely to be judged by his character in addition to his accomplishments.
United States v. Nixon held that there is
no unqualified presidential privilege of immunity from judicial process.
Andrew Jackson established the precedent that a president's veto can be used
on policy grounds even when a bill may appear to be constitutional.
With substantial Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress, President Kennedy, during the last year of his presidency, was able to secure passage of ________ of his proposals.
only one-fourth
The primary source(s) of the expansion of presidential power can be found in
options A, B, and C. (the president's ability to shape public opinion. the president's position as the head of the executive branch. the president's claims to certain "inherent" powers.)
The principal function of the White House Office is to
oversee the political and policy interests of the president.
When a president makes fire-and-brimstone speeches confirming a shared sense of purpose, he/she is appealing principally to
partisan activists at the state and local levels.
The presidential character of Lyndon Johnson was exemplified by
persuasion in face-to-face encounters.
Members of Congress pay attention to the personal popularity of a president because
politicians tend to rise and fall together.
The greatest source of presidential power can be found in
politics and public opinion.
The rule of propinquity states that
power tends to be wielded by the people who are in the room where a decision is made.
According to the text, the three methods by which a president can organize his or her personal staff are
pyramidal, circular, and ad hoc.
The method of staff organization that poses the risk of isolating or misinforming the president is called
pyramidal.
A federal court has ruled that pocket vetoes cannot be issued just before
recess
At the Constitutional Convention, the most frequent concern regarding the presidency focused on
reelection
One possible consequence of an electoral system without the Electoral College might be the need for
runoff elections.
An aspect of George Washington's personality that encouraged the delegates to the Constitutional Convention to approve an elected presidency was his
self-restraint.
If a president has a particular attitude about how a piece of legislation might be implemented, he/she might issue a
signing statement.
Presidents need to rely on their powers of persuasion because of their
sketchy constitutional powers and lack of ensured legislative majorities.
The texts suggests that a "unified government" might be
something of a myth.
When George Washington went to the Senate for advice on a treaty, he was told that
the Senate would consider the matter in private.
One concern expressed at the Constitutional Convention focused on the possibility that shared powers would cause the president to be a mere "tool" of
the Senate.
Barack Obama is only the third person elected to the presidency from
the U.S. Senate.
Lyndon Johnson enjoyed considerable success in Congress until
the Vietnam War sapped his strength.
President Lincoln justified his unprecedented use of the vague powers granted to the president in Article II of the U.S. Constitution by citing
the conditions created by civil war.
The second plan that was suggested at the Constitutional Convention for the selection of the president called for selection by
the direct vote of the people.
The text suggests that the abolition of the Electoral College might lead to
the formation of third parties.
When a presidential candidate talks on the campaign trail of the many good things that he/she would accomplish as president, he/she is appealing principally to
the general public.
Presidential claims of executive privilege are based on the separation of powers and on
the need for candid advice from aides.
Today, senior White House staff members are drawn from the ranks of
the president's campaign staff.
In a parliamentary system, the voters cannot choose
their prime minister.
In only ____ instances, candidates have won the electoral vote without winning a majority of the popular vote.
three
One of the fears expressed by the Founders about aspects of the presidency was the fear of a president's
using the militia to overpower state governments.
