Political Science 8
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- 1.According to the textbook, President Bush’s use of signing statements
- A.
Helped to clarify for executive agencies how they are to implement laws.
- B.
Was a strictly ceremonial act with no significance.
- C.
Threatened the system of separation of powers.
- D.
Created agreements between presidents and the heads of foreign governments.
- E.
was a traditional action taken by presidents to signify their agreement with Congress. was a traditional action taken by presidents to signify their agreement with Congress. was a traditional action taken by presidents to signify their agreement with Congress. was a traditional action taken by presidents to signify their agreement with Congress.
- 2.According to the textbook, presidents have difficulty surviving two terms in office and maintaining their popularity because
- A.
Presidents have too little power to meet public expectations.
- B.
Of partisan political bickering.
- C.
Of congressional ineptitude.
- D.
Voter turnout is low.
- E.
The electoral system favors inexperienced presidential candidates.
- 3.The _________ is dated from the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- A.
Decrease in the president’s responsibility for economic prosperity
- B.
Rise of public expectations of the president
- C.
Growth of power in state governments
- D.
Rise of corruption in the presidency
- E.
Lowering of public demands on presidents
- 4.Presidents are limited to two full terms in office by
- A.
An act of Congress.
- B.
A Supreme Court decision that interpreted Article II of the Constitution.
- C.
Constitutional amendment.
- D.
An executive order issued by President Harry Truman. an executive order issued by President Harry Truman.
- E.
An executive order issued by President Harry Truman. an executive order issued by President Harry Truman. custom
- 5.In most advanced industrial democracies the role of head of government
- A.
Is performed by the prime minister.
- B.
is performed by the president.
- C.
is united with the role of head of state.
- D.
Has been eliminated.
- E.
Is shared among a set of executive-branch officials.
- 6.Alexander Hamilton's principal argument about the presidency in Federalist No. 70 is that it
- A.
Must have a vice president who would be ready to take over in case the president dies.
- B.
Should allow the president to act as the civilian head of the military.
- C.
should be vigorous, single-member, and unencumbered by a cabinet.
- D.
Must be selected by the "best citizens" of the Electoral College.
- E.
Should possess the pardoning power because most state governors have that ability.
- 7.If there is a disagreement as to how whether the president is disabled and should turn his duties over to the vice president, the issue is resolved by
- A.
Agreement between the president and vice president.
- B.
a ruling of the Supreme Court.
- C.
a vote of the cabinet.
- D.
The rules of succession as established by act of Congress.
- E.
the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution.
- 8.The official constitutional grounds for presidential impeachment are
- A.
Treason, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress.
- B.
Not explicitly spelled out in the document.
- C.
bribery, incompetence, and contempt of Congress
- D.
Treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors.
- E.
All crimes, regardless of their severity.
- 9.Many observers have concluded that impeachment is not an effective check on presidents because
- A.
Presidents are never likely to commit an impeachable offense.
- B.
The process is too crippling for the government because Congress and the president would be consumed with the impeachment and trial.
- C.
the Supreme Court would probably overturn a president’s conviction.
- D.
Members of Congress will not use the process.
- E.
It is too easy for presidents to rally public opinion against the process.
- 10.The Iran-Contra controversy did not lead to the impeachment of President Reagan because
- A.
No laws were broken.
- B.
The public concluded it was a necessary act of foreign policy.
- C.
he had left office before Iran-Contra was discovered.
- D.
. the Republicans controlled Congress and refused to impeach the president.
- E.
He claimed he knew nothing about Iran-Contra and no evidence was found to contradict him.
- 11.The president's cabinet is composed of the
- A.
Joint Chiefs of Staff and state-level policy advisors.
- B.
Appointees heading each major department in the executive branch.
- C.
President's party leadership
- D.
Chairs of the congressional standing committees.
- E.
Chief justice and several congressional leaders.
- 12.Presidents have been able to ignore the restrictions on their ability to go to war contained in the War Powers Act because
- A.
Everyone agrees the Supreme Court would probably declare the law unconstitutional if Congress ever attempted to enforce it. everyone agrees the Supreme Court would probably declare the law unconstitutional if Congress ever attempted to enforce it.
- B.
Congress has simply chosen to ignore the act.
- C.
Congress fears the ability of a president to use the military to enforce his decisions.
- D.
They have gone to war when public opinion backed them.
- E.
The provisions of the act are very vague and make it easy to ignore.
- 13.The president’s authority over foreign and defense policy comes from all of the following except
- A.
His power to declare war.
- B.
his power to conclude executive agreements.
- C.
His power to recognize ambassadors from other nations.
- D.
his power as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
- E.
His power to negotiate treaties.
- 14.In the United States, treaties are negotiated by the president and require
- A.
Review by the Supreme Court before they can be implemented
- B.
Three-quarters approval from the cabinet prior to their submission to Congress.
- C.
Two-thirds approval from the Senate.
- D.
Two-thirds approval from Congress.
- E.
No endorsement from any other government agency.
- 15.Pacts made by the president with another head of state that do not require Senate approval are called
- A.
International memos of understanding.
- B.
Executive orders.
- C.
Executive agreements.
- D.
Treaties.
- E.
Interstate protocols
- 16.All of the following statements concerning the president’s veto power are true EXCEPT
- A.
Presidents have had the line item veto since 1995.
- B.
Congress is generally unsuccessful at overturning presidential vetoes.
- C.
George W. Bush was the third president not to veto a bill in his first term
- D.
Presidents use the veto more frequently when their party does not control Congress.
- E.
The threat of a veto is a powerful tool in presidential negotiations with Congress.
- 17.Among the president’s legislative powers are all of the following EXCEPT
- A.
The State of the Union address.
- B.
The line-item veto.
- C.
Executive orders.
- D.
The vice president’s role as presiding officer of the Senate.
- E.
The presidential veto.
- 18.All of the following statements concerning the president’s judicial power are true EXCEPT
- A.
He can have a tremendous long-term impact on the judiciary.
- B.
His power is very weak in the short run.
- C.
Senior senators of the president’s party have a great deal of power over all of his judicial appointments.
- D.
The pardon power is a check on the judiciary.
- E.
Presidents can try to influence the judiciary by having the solicitor general argue cases before the court.
- 19.The responsibilities of the solicitor general include all of the following except
- A.
Serving as head of the Department of Justice.
- B.
Representing the government before the Supreme Court.
- C.
Filing amicus curiae briefs with the Supreme Court.
- D.
Serving as a bridge between the judiciary and the executive.
- E.
Deciding which cases to file with the Supreme Court for the government.
- 20.Activist nineteenth century presidents tended to claim that they were exercising
- A.
Inherent powers of the executive implied in the Constitution.
- B.
Superior wisdom.
- C.
The will of the people.
- D.
Powers granted to them explicitly in the Constitution.
- E.
Emergency powers granted by Congress.
- 21.Inherent powers are the
- A.
Presidential powers not explicitly stated in the Constitution.
- B.
Powers granted to Congress by the necessary and proper clause.
- C.
Unwritten abilities of judges to issue contempt citations and bench warrants.
- D.
Constitutional responsibilities of the cabinet members.
- E.
Congressional powers to control the legislative process
- 22.President Obama initially tried a ___________ approach to get his healthcare bill passed.
- A.
Divided government
- B.
Partisan
- C.
Inherent
- D.
Bipartisan
- E.
None of the above
- 23.The response of the president to what event led to Americans’ belief that government should play a much more active role in helping solve problems beyond their control?
- A.
The Civil War
- B.
World War II
- C.
The September 11 attacks
- D.
The civil rights movement
- E.
The Great Depression The Great Depression The Great Depression
- 24.The Supreme Court has ruled that the president has
- A.
Fewer inherent powers in foreign policy than in domestic policy
- B.
More inherent powers in foreign policy than in domestic policy.
- C.
The same amount of inherent power in foreign policy as in domestic policy.
- D.
No inherent powers in domestic policy but some in foreign policy.
- E.
No inherent powers.
- 25.To pass his legislative agenda a president must __________ members of Congress to get them to support his proposals.
- A.
Intimidate
- B.
Bribe
- C.
Persuade
- D.
Punish
- E.
threaten
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