Deck 10: The Presidency

Question 1

Presidents, even those with great majorities of their own party in Congress, experience difficulty in exercising legislative leadership because

A) the president must compete against interest groups for influence.
B) the president is unable to control Congress, unlike a prime minister.
C) the president's use of the veto is easily defeated by Congress.
D) Congress attracts greater publicity when challenging the president.
E) the president cannot counteract the influence of committee chairs.

Answer 1

the president is unable to control Congress, unlike a prime minister.

Question 2

The powers that the president shares with the Senate include

A) receiving ambassadors.
B) making treaties.
C) granting pardons for federal offenses.
D) ensuring that the laws are faithfully executed.
E) being commander in chief.

Answer 2

making treaties.

Question 3

The greatest source of presidential power is

A) the power of referendum.
B) the threat of a veto.
C) the power to remove members of Congress from office for violating their oath of office.
D) politics and public opinion.
E) the power to make political appointments.

Answer 3

politics and public opinion.

Question 4

One source for the expansion of presidential power has been

A) civil-service reform.
B) the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment.
C) the president's role in foreign affairs.
D) the electoral college.
E) the conference committee.

Question 5

The first problem for the Framers was to establish __________ the presidency.

A) the legitimacy of
B) the power of
C) the prestige of
D) a lead role for
E) a position of primacy for

Question 6

Each state determines how to cast its electoral college votes. Today, the system adopted by most of the states is

A) winner-take-all.
B) proportional division.
C) the use of national party conventions.
D) a vote by the members of Congress from that state.
E) a combination of proportional representation and lottery.

Question 7

When a presidential election is thrown into the House, each __________ casts one vote.

A) member
B) state delegation
C) representative
D) member of the majority party
E) representative and senator

Question 8

Doing away with the electoral college would

A) make it more difficult for third parties to form.
B) heighten the influence of local politics.
C) heighten the influence of states in national politics.
D) encourage third parties to form.
E) take power away from third parties.

Question 9

The first presidents exercised the veto power sparingly and with particular concerns for the __________ of legislation.

A) wisdom
B) efficiency
C) impact
D) constitutionality
E) bipartisan nature

Question 10

The first presidents established the legitimacy of the office by

A) exerting leadership over Congress through regular use of vetoes and legislative proposals.
B) treading cautiously.
C) demonstrating popularity with the people by winning popular referendums on their proposals.
D) defeating all votes of "no confidence" in Congress.
E) removing those who disagreed with them from Congress.

Question 11

President Lincoln's unprecedented use of the vague powers granted in Article II were in response to the

A) debates of the Framers.
B) platform of the Republican Party.
C) conditions created by civil war.
D) philosophy of the Whig Party.
E) the intentions of state conventions during ratification of the Constitution.

Question 12

A strong chief of staff is an important player in the __________ model of organization.

A) circular
B) pyramidal
C) rectangular
D) cluster
E) trapezoidal.

Question 13

Presidents who favor personal involvement in the details of policy favor __________ structures.

A) circular and cluster
B) pyramidal
C) rectangular
D) pyramidal and circular
E) trapezoidal and rectangular

Question 14

Presidents who favor order and clear lines of authority favor __________ structures.

A) circular
B) pyramidal
C) rectangular
D) cluster
E) trapezoidal

Question 15

The text describes the president's cabinet as

A) a primary feature of the Constitution.
B) a key element in presidential decision making.
C) the final authority in White House policy making.
D) a functional, highly coordinated group.
E) largely a fiction.

Question 16

Which of the following is the oldest cabinet department?

A) Labor
B) Interior
C) Commerce
D) Agriculture
E) State

Question 17

Rivalries tend to develop between the White House staff and department heads because

A) heads of large organizations tend to adopt the perspective of that organization.
B) department heads tend to seek political favors.
C) staff members tend to be more experienced than the department heads.
D) department heads are perceived as naïve and lacking in experience.
E) of typical office politics.

Question 18

In recent administrations, presidential cabinet nominees are not likely to have had

A) a strong political following.
B) expertise.
C) interest-group support.
D) prior government experience.
E) party affiliations.

Question 19

The impact of the presidential race on the outcome of congressional elections

A) is quite strong, with a popular presidential candidate accounting for the victories of numerous congressional candidates of his or her party.
B) is important only to incumbents seeking reelection.
C) has declined in recent years and is quite small today.
D) makes a difference only when neither presidential candidate is the incumbent president.
E) is evident when candidates have little or no previous political experience.

Question 20

The personal popularity of the president has its greatest effect on

A) how well members of his or her party do in House elections.
B) how well members of his or her party do in Senate elections.
C) how Congress treats his or her legislative proposals.
D) how he or she conducts foreign policy.
E) which leaders of the international community he or she is associated with.

Question 21

A president's popularity tends to be highest

A) at the end of his term.
B) after the first 100 days.
C) at mid-term.
D) after the mid-term elections.
E) right after an election.

Question 22

President __________ was criticized for appearing to be bumbling and incoherent.

A) Eisenhower
B) Kennedy
C) Johnson
D) Nixon
E) Ford

Question 23

President __________ was a master legislative strategist who struggled to maintain popular support.

A) Eisenhower
B) Kennedy
C) Johnson
D) Nixon
E) Ford

Question 24

President __________ held a deep suspicion of the media and disliked personal confrontation.

A) Eisenhower
B) Kennedy
C) Johnson
D) Nixon
E) Ford

Question 25

President __________ was a Washington outsider who probably tried to do too many things.

A) Carter
B) Reagan
C) George H. W. Bush
D) Clinton
E) George W. Bush

Question 26

President __________ gave wide discretion to subordinates and was a superb leader of public opinion.

A) Carter
B) Reagan
C) George H. W. Bush
D) Clinton
E) George W. Bush

Question 27

President __________ ran as a "centrist" but, once elected, began governing as a "liberal."

A) Carter
B) Reagan
C) George H. W. Bush
D) Clinton
E) George W. Bush

Question 28

The veto message must be sent to Congress within _____ days.

A) two
B) five
C) ten
D) thirty
E) sixty

Question 29

The likelihood of Congress overriding a president's veto is

A) extremely high.
B) most likely on bills dealing with foreign affairs.
C) more likely when a pocket veto is involved.
D) extremely low.
E) low if the president is in the fourth year of the term.

Question 30

The Supreme Court was able to avoid the issue of executive privilege until

A) the Civil War.
B) the Great Depression.
C) The Teapot Dome scandal.
D) Watergate.
E) the Whitewater scandal.

Question 31

In the Watergate tapes case, the Supreme Court held that

A) there is no executive privilege.
B) there is absolute presidential immunity from the judicial process.
C) there is no unqualified presidential privilege of immunity from the judicial process.
D) no presidential aides were involved.
E) the executive branch cannot generally be investigated by the legislative branch.

Question 32

Presidential impoundment of funds has been severely limited in recent years because of

A) a string of unfavorable court decisions.
B) an act of Congress passed in 1974.
C) public outrage.
D) the opposition of the federal bureaucracy.
E) media scrutiny.

Question 33

A signing statement is a statement issued

A) by the president about a bill he has just signed into law.
B) by the courts that questions the constitutionality of a law.
C) by the House when a bill has been appropriated.
D) by the president about why he has vetoed a bill.
E) by the Senate.

Question 34

The constraints imposed on the president suggest that the chief executive's best legislative strategy is to

A) submit a large number of policies to Congress in hopes that a few will be enacted.
B) have a limited agenda and invest his or her influence carefully.
C) submit major proposals immediately prior to a congressional election.
D) announce important domestic policy initiatives while overseas to pressure Congress to act quickly.
E) use the media to goad Congress into accepting a wide-ranging agenda.

Question 35

In recent decades all presidents have had to devote substantial amounts of their time to foreign affairs and to

A) the economy.
B) law enforcement.
C) parks and recreation areas.
D) social issues such as abortion and the death penalty.
E) the war on drugs.

Question 36

A president's success in getting Congress to go along with his or her programs can be measured in two ways-by the proportion of presidential proposals approved by Congress and by the

A) total amount of funding allocated by Congress for the president's programs.
B) proportion of votes taken in Congress on which the president's position prevails.
C) speed at which the president's programs are acted on by Congress.
D) number of amendments and riders that Congress attaches to the president's various proposals.
E) the percentage of the president's party members who vote for his or her position.

Question 37

The proportion of measures submitted by the president to Congress that are approved is

A) less than half.
B) almost all because presidents have become selective in their proposals.
C) very low because members of Congress receive little publicity when agreeing with the president.
D) increasing steadily.
E) unknown.

Question 38

The president is limited to two terms in office by

A) the Succession Act of 1947.
B) the Twenty-second Amendment.
C) the Twenty-fifth Amendment.
D) tradition.
E) the rules of the electoral college.

Question 39

Which of the following presidents was not assassinated?

A) Lincoln
B) Garfield
C) McKinley
D) Taft
E) Kennedy

Question 40

All the following have a say in presidential disability except

A) the president.
B) the vice president.
C) the cabinet
D) Congress
E) the Supreme Court.

Question 41

The __________ votes to remove the president from office following an impeachment trial.

A) Joint Judiciary Committee
B) House
C) Senate
D) Supreme Court
E) cabinet

Question 42

A president can be impeached for treason, bribery, and

A) any civil offense.
B) mental disability.
C) physical incapacity.
D) high crimes and misdemeanors.
E) political incivility.

Question 43

Most of the text's examples of the exercise of presidential power have been in

A) foreign affairs.
B) economic policy.
C) appointments.
D) policy making.
E) social welfare.

Question 44

Before the president assumed dominance in the conduct of foreign policy, the cabinet officer who dominated this policy area was the

A) Secretary of the Treasury.
B) Secretary of the Interior.
C) Secretary of Defense.
D) Secretary of State.
E) Secretary of Commerce.

Question 45

In order to increase their own influence on foreign policy, recent presidents have brought __________ into the White House.

A) a national security advisor
B) leaders of the opposite party
C) congressional whips
D) military judges
E) the heads of international corporations

Question 46

Which of the following organizations is the smallest but perhaps the most influential?

A) Department of State
B) Defense Department
C) Central Intelligence Agency
D) National Security Council
E) Interior Department

Question 47

The War Powers Act

A) placed restrictions on the president's ability to use military force.
B) was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
C) gave the president unlimited power to declare war.
D) was endorsed by President Nixon.
E) placed restrictions on Congress' ability to use military force.

Question 48

The decisive check on presidential authority in foreign policy is

A) congressional intelligence oversight committees.
B) the president's advisers.
C) public opinion.
D) the professional military.
E) the cabinet.

Question 49

When Barack Obama took office, what happened to the Patriot Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)?

A) They were declared unconstitutional.
B) They were both renewed without any important changes.
C) They were both renewed with important changes.
D) The Patriot Act was renewed and FISA was declared unconstitutional.
E) The FISA was renewed and the Patriot Act was declared unconstitutional.

Question 50

Which economic adviser to the president probably would be most concerned with the views of foreign bankers?

A) The CEA chair
B) The Secretary of the Treasury
C) The OMB head
D) The Federal Reserve Board chair
E) The Secretary of Commerce

Question 51

The __________ consists of seven persons who are appointed by the president and who serve fourteen-year terms.

A) OMB
B) CEA
C) Treasury Department
D) Federal Reserve Board
E) Commerce Department

Question 52

The purpose of a budget resolution is to

A) override a presidential veto of an appropriation bill.
B) state the total amount of allowable spending before appropriation bills are passed.
C) have the president address Congress on the state of the union before the budget is considered.
D) raise the debt ceiling to enable more deficit spending.
E) inform Congress of contradictions in formal requests.

Question 53

The shortfall between what the government takes in from taxes/fees and what it spends is the

A) budget surplus.
B) budget deficit.
C) national debt.
D) appropriations.
E) continuing resolution.

Question 54

Under a parliamentary system, voters do not elect the chief executive.

Question 55

Article II provides a long list of formal presidential powers.

Question 56

The president cannot grant a pardon in a case involving impeachment.

Question 57

Woodrow Wilson viewed the presidency as an office that featured extraordinary powers.

Question 58

The president's power has increased since Congress has begun leaving the details of many programs for the executive branch to determine.

Question 59

It was widely assumed that James Madison would be the nation's first president.

Question 60

To become president, a candidate must collect 270 electoral votes.

Question 61

It is possible to become president with the electoral vote of only ten states.

Question 62

If no candidate receives a majority of the electoral college vote, the Senate selects the president.

Question 63

Polls suggest that most Americans would like to abolish the electoral college.

Question 64

If the electoral college were abolished, third parties would have greater incentives to form.

Question 65

To establish the legitimacy of the presidency as a powerful actor, early presidents frequently exercised the veto.

Question 66

Lincoln justified his expansive actions during the Civil War on the basis of presidential power and his role as commander in chief.

Question 67

Until the 1930s, Congress dominated the government in terms of formulating legislation.

Question 68

The Rule of Propinquity states that power is wielded by persons who are in the room when a decision is made.

Question 69

Senior White House staff members are typically drawn from the ranks of the president's campaign.

Question 70

Age (thirty-five) and natural-born citizen requirements are the only requirements for the presidency.

Question 71

The president earns an annual salary of around $1 million.

Question 72

The Department of State is one of the agencies in the Executive Office of the President.

Question 73

Members of the president's cabinet are selected with the consent of the Senate.

Question 74

The Department of Defense is the cabinet department with the highest number of civilian employees.

Question 75

The newest cabinet department is the Department of Veterans' Affairs.

Question 76

Presidents actually appoint a very small percentage of the employees in the various departments of government.

Question 77

Many presidential nominees and appointees are identified as "in and outers" because they are part of the "revolving door" of hires exchanged between government, universities, and various law firms.

Question 78

Most cabinet nominations in recent administrations have been made in recognition of policy expertise or administrative experience.

Question 79

The effect of presidential coattails in elections is quite small today.

Question 80

Popular presidents are more successful at getting bills that they support passed in Congress.