gov unit 4 reading quiz questions

Which state has the first-in-the-nation caucus?

Iowa

The so-called "superdelegates" are the result of: - A desire to restore an element of peer review to the process - A concern about the lack of a role for party leaders at conventions - A "reward" for people with a long-term stake in the party's success - A desire to have delegates who are familiar with the candidates - All of these reasons

all of these reasons

A "media event" is: - a banquet for reports and television executives - An event that is staged primarily for the media - Any event that is covered by the media - Only a really important event, such as a part's national convention or the presidential election - Only events that are covered by the national media

an event primarily staged for the media

The term "political efficacy" is defined as a person's: - Belief in the ability to influence politics - Sense of civic duty - Political ideology - Level of political knowledge - Eligibility to vote in elections

belief in the ability to influence politics

Which of the following allows voters to pick some Democrats and some Republicans on the primary, if they like? - Open primaries - All primaries - Free primaries - Closed primaries - Blanket primaries

blanket primaries

The task of writing a party's political platform is left to: - The national party platform committee - The national convention - The national committee - The national chairperson - Each state party writes its own

national committee

On average, how much of a presidential candidate's campaign budget is spent on TV ads? - 60 percent - Less than 10 percent - 80 percent - 40 percent - 20 percent

60%

Executive agreements require:

no ratification

Which Amendment to the Constitution limits the terms a president may serve?

22

How many executive departments were created during the first Congress in 1789?

3

In the past 20 years, the media in the United States has undergone a transformation from "broadcasting" to "narrowcasting" A) Explain the difference between broadcasting and narrowcasting. B) Describe how narrowcasting effects bias in the media. C) Describe how narrowcasting can affect the media's ability to influence public opinion. *

Broadcasting has no target audience and therefore broadcasts a variety of topics in the news that anyone can be interested in. Narrowcasting has a specific target audience and therefore contains specific topics. Narrowcasting can lead to bias in the media because niche groups are getting only the information that is relevant to them and likely supports their views. This influences public opinion because it strengthens their viewpoint and makes them think they are justifiably correct. This exacerbates the divide between them and the opposing group.

Which of the following is NOT a criticism of the primary and caucus system? - The system gives too much power to the media - Candidates with lots of political experience have a disproportionate chance of winning - Participation in the primaries and caucuses is unrepresentative - Campaign success depends too much on the ability to raise enough money - The early primaries and caucuses receive disproportionate attention

Candidates with lots of political experience have a disproportionate chance of winning

Political Action Committees (PACs): - Receive money from political candidates - Contribute equally to the campaigns of incumbents and challengers - Contribute much more money to campaigns of challengers than to incumbents - Contribute no money to political campaigns - Contribute much more money to the campaigns of incumbents than to challengers

Contribute much more money to the campaigns of incumbents than to challengers

Which of the following is NOT a reason why voter turnout in European countries is so much higher than in the United States? - European political parties are more diverse - European elections usually take place on weekends - European electoral campaigns are more effective - Europeans have fewer elections to vote in - European governments take care of voter registration for their citizens

European electoral campaigns are more effective

If ABC sells a 60-second time slot for a campaign commercial to Barack Obama:

It must sell a 60-second time slot to both John McCain and Hilary Clinton

The ability to nominate ambassadors, with the agreement of the majority of the Senate, falls into which category of presidential powers? - Legislative powers - Judicial powers - None of these - Administrative powers - National security powers

National security powers

In a closed primary system: - Only certain states' voters participate - Only party officials may vote to select the party's candidates - The vote for a party's candidates is kept secret until the general election - The vote for a party's candidates is conducted by secret ballot - Only members of a party may vote to select that party's candidates

Only members of a party may vote to select that party's candidates

Which of the following tasks falls to the vice president?

Presiding over the Senate

Research on the effects of political campaigns on voters shows that they: - Convert voters, but rarely reinforce preferences or activate voters - Reinforce preferences, activate voters, and convert voters - Reinforce preferences and activate voters, but rarely convert voters - Reinforce preferences, but rarely activate or convert voters - Activate voters, but rarely reinforce preferences or convert voters

Reinforce preferences and activate voters, but rarely convert voters

Which of the following is NOT true about American's voting behavior, according to the date presented in table 10.1 on page 316 in your textbook?

Single people are more likely to vote than married people

Which of the following is NOT an example of a linkage institution? - Interest groups - Elections - The media - Political parties - The White House

The White House

Which of the following statements are true about the media's agenda-setting effect? Check ALL that apply: - The agenda-setting effect is particularly strong among uninformed citizens - The agenda-setting effect influences the criteria by which citizens evaluate political leaders. - The agenda-setting effect is the media's direct impact on how Americans vote - The agenda-setting effect rewards investigative journalism

The agenda-setting effect influences the criteria by which citizens evaluate political leaders. The agenda-setting effect is particularly strong among uninformed citizens The agenda-setting effect is the media's direct impact on how Americans vote

The term "party dealignment" refers to: - The reformulation of a party's platform - The fragmentation of a political party into splinter parties - The realignment of party coalition - The loss of party members to the other party - The loss of party members as more people identify as independents

The loss of party members as more people identify as independents

The Constitution places the power for treaty making in the hands of:

The president and senate

The term "linkage institution" refers to: - The ways in which policymakers link issues in order to convince voters (ie., "security" and "immigration" - The linkage between different political institutions - The linkage between different policy areas - The ways in which citizens policy preferences are converted in party initiatives - The linkage between interest groups and political parties

The ways in which citizens policy preferences are converted in party initiatives - connects people to government

Which of the following statements is a reason why young Americans are typically the least politically active: - They have been socialized through their formal education to distrust the government - They spend too much time watching television news - They have little political experience - They pay higher taxes than older Americans, making them especially cynical - Young voters are more mobile than older voters, but most states require that citizens live at the same address for a full year before they are allowed to participate

They have little political experience

Which of the following is not generally true of women's political beliefs compared to men's? - They tend to oppose higher levels of military spending - They tend to be more likely to support Democratic candidates - All of the choices are true - They are more likely to be pro-choice - They tend to be more likely to support spending on social service

They tend to be more likely to support Democratic candidates

Which of the following is NOT one of the responsibilities of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC): - To ensure that licensed stations serve the public interest - To conduct periodic examinations of the goals and performance of stations - To uphold fair treatment rules concerning access to airwaves for political candidates and officeholders - To ensure the quality and reliability of information that is broadcast - To prevent near monopolies of control over a broadcast market

To ensure the quality and reliability of information that is broadcast

Which of the following is MOST likely to hinder an incumbent president's chances of reelection: - The incumbent has gone against his party platform on occasion - Unemployment rates have gone up drastically during the last year - Spending on education has been cut - The incumbent has opposed an important environmental treaty - The incumbent has admitted to past use of marijuana

Unemployment rates have gone up drastically during the last year

The media generally became more cynical in its coverage of politicians after:

Vietnam and Watergate

Based on what we know about processes of political socialization, a young adult in America is most likely to be influenced by: - His or her college courses - What he or she picked up while watching TV - The political opinions of their friends - His or her high school civics and government classes - His or her parents' political views

What he or she picked up while watching TV

An organization of the White House staff that emphasizes relatively equal status of staff members and focuses on a "balance of power" is referred to as a: - Hub system - Nuts-and-bolts system - Merry-go-round system - Hierarchical system - Wheel-and-spokes system

Wheel-and-spokes system

Impeachment of the president requires: - A two-thirds majority in the Senate only - A two-thirds majority in the House and a simple majority in the Senate - A simple majority in both the House and the Senate - A two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate - A simple majority in the House and a two-thirds majority in the Senate

a simple majority in the House and a two-thirds majority in the Senate

All of the following are powers of the president EXCEPT - dismissing Supreme Court justices - granting pardons - appointing top-level administrators to serve in the bureaucracy - conducting diplomatic relations - negotiating treaties

dismissing Supreme Court justices

The internal organization of political parties in the United States is best characterized by: - Hiearchy - Strong leadership - Fragmentation - Centralization - Lack of leadership

fragmentation

Which of the following tends to receive less attention in television campaign coverage than the candidates would like? - Speculation - Poll results - Campaign srategies - Human interest stories - Issues and policies

issues and policies

How are older Americans different from younger Americans? Check ALL that apply: - Older Americans are more conservative - Older Americans are more likely to vote - Older Americans are more likely to favor spending money on national defense - Older Americans are more likely to favor tax increases and more government spending - Older Americans are more supportive of investing in Social Security funds in the stock market

more conservative more likely to vote more likely to favor spending money on national defense

Presidents attempt to influence policymaking in all of the following ways EXCEPT by - appealing directly to the public for support - offering favors such as backing during re-election - building coalitions among party members - exchanging support for policies with representatives - proposing legislation in congressional committees

proposing legislation in congressional committees

The War Powers Resolution checks the president's power by - requiring troops to be withdrawn in 60 days unless Congress declares war or issues an extension - preventing him from sending troops into crisis situations without congressional approval - prohibiting him from issuing executive agreements that engage the country in war - increasing the power of Congress to control the military budget - mandating that Congress approve the president's decision to use weapons of mass destruction

requiring troops to be withdrawn in 60 days unless Congress declares war or issues an extension

Which of the following is NOT a tactic interest groups use? - Litigation - Campaign contributions - Volunteer campaign labor - Running for office - Lobbying

running for office

All of the following influence the formation of political beliefs EXCEPT *

the month you're born

Which of the following is NOT true of the success of interest groups? - Greater financial resources contribute to a group's success - The more intense the group, the more successful it is - The better-known groups are more successful - The smaller a group, the more successful it tends to be - All of these statements are true

the smaller a group, the more successful it tends to be

With regard to the regulation of the allocation of delegates: - States allocate all delegates to the candidate who wins - There are clear, national laws that determine the process - Each state is able to allocate delegates at its own discretion - Only citizens who are registered are allowed to participate in the primaries - There is no consistent rule

there is no consistent rule

A referendum is defined as: - Voters gathering in town-hall-style meetings to discuss new laws they would like to see enacted - The legislature overriding the president's veto on a law - Voters proposing a law to the legislature - Voters nullifying a law passed by the legislature - The governor asking voters to pass a law that the legislature refuses to act on

voters nullifying a law passed by legislature

first 5 in succession to president

vp speaker of the house president pro tempore secretary of state secretary of treasury

The Founding Fathers believed that political parties:

would become a source of division and friction