Question 1

Obama was tested from the outset of his presidency by the most polarized politics since Newt Gingrich led Republicans to their landslide Congressional victory of 1994.

Accepted Answer

Barack Obama's presidency was indeed challenged by highly polarized politics, a situation that had been intensifying since the mid-1990s, particularly after Newt Gingrich led the Republican Party to a significant victory in the 1994 Congressional elections, which marked the beginning of a new era of partisanship in American politics.

Question 2

Relatively few people realized, as well, that the Stimulus Plan funded $250 million in middle-class tax cuts.

Accepted Answer

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, often referred to as the Stimulus Plan, included various provisions for tax cuts, amounting to about $288 billion, which were aimed at benefiting the middle class among others. This included making work pay tax credits, and tax incentives for first-time home buyers, education, and energy efficiency.

Question 3

The TARP program committed more than $12.5 trillion to protect the economy in the larges expenditures in American history in a brief span of time.

Accepted Answer

The TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) authorized expenditures of about $700 billion to stabilize the financial system during the 2008 financial crisis, not $12.5 trillion.

Question 4

If members of both parties had voted for work relief programs in the Great Depression, virtually all Republicans voted against the Stimulus Plan except moderate Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.

Accepted Answer

During the Great Depression, there was bipartisan support for work relief programs. However, in the context of the Stimulus Plan during the Great Recession, virtually all Republicans opposed it, with the notable exceptions of moderate Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, who voted in favor.

Question 5

Like many Republican presidents who had preceded him, Obama disparage the nation's safety net programs, such as Food Stamps, the EITC, CHIP, subsidized child care, unemployment benefits, and Section 8 housing.

Accepted Answer

Barack Obama, a Democratic president, supported and often sought to strengthen safety net programs, contrasting with some Republican presidents who have sought to reduce or reform these types of programs.

Quiz 12: Would President Barack Obama Reverse the Cycle of History

Obama was tested from the outset of his presidency by the most polarized politics since Newt Gingrich led Republicans to their landslide Congressional victory of 1994.

Relatively few people realized, as well, that the Stimulus Plan funded $250 million in middle-class tax cuts.

The TARP program committed more than $12.5 trillion to protect the economy in the larges expenditures in American history in a brief span of time.

If members of both parties had voted for work relief programs in the Great Depression, virtually all Republicans voted against the Stimulus Plan except moderate Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.

Like many Republican presidents who had preceded him, Obama disparage the nation's safety net programs, such as Food Stamps, the EITC, CHIP, subsidized child care, unemployment benefits, and Section 8 housing.