Deck 12: The Presidency

Question 1

Which presidential power is balanced by required approval of the Senate?

A) extending diplomatic recognition to foreign governments
B) terminating relations with other nations
C) negotiating treaties with other nations
D) negotiating executive agreements with foreign heads of state
E) exercising veto power

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which president was impeached by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives in the last thirty years?

A) Ronald Reagan
B) George H. W. Bush
C) Bill Clinton
D) George W. Bush
E) Barack Obama

Answer 2

C

Question 3

What is an executive order?

A) a formal document that explains why a president is signing a particular bill into law
B) a formal agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that requires approval by both houses of Congress
C) a formal, public agreement between the United States and one or more nations that must be approved by two-third of the Senate
D) a formal directive to executive branch departments and agencies that have the force of law
E) degree formal agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that does not require Senate approval

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which early president, who was initially hostile to the idea of a vigorous central government, concluded the Louisiana Purchase with France, which doubled the size of the United States and opened the continent for American settlement?

A) James Polk
B) Abraham Lincoln
C) George Washington
D) Thomas Jefferson
E) Woodrow Wilson

Question 5

The Founders created a system of __________ to prevent tyranny?

A) limited power
B) equal power
C) separation of powers
D) diminishing power
E) unlimited power

Question 6

The use of __________ in foreign matters is an example of the president acting as a foreign policy leader.

A) pocket vetoes
B) executive privilege
C) executive agreements
D) executive orders
E) signing statements

Question 7

Congress can remove a president through __________.

A) veto
B) executive privilege
C) executive order
D) impeachment
E) filibuster

Question 8

What changed the problem in the original Constitution in which the runner-up in the presidential election became vice president?

A) Sixteenth Amendment
B) Twenty-Fifth Amendment
C) Twenty-Second Amendment
D) Twelfth Amendment
E) Fifth Amendment

Question 9

Which vice president was more central to the White House policy-making process than any other vice president in American history?

A) Dick Cheney
B) Joe Biden
C) Theodore Roosevelt
D) Walter Mondale
E) Gerald Ford

Question 10

Which institutional resource is closest to the president?

A) Executive Office of the President
B) White House staff
C) the Cabinet
D) the vice president
E) Joint Chiefs of Staff

Question 11

Who solidified the prestige of the presidency in a time when citizens did not trust executive leadership?

A) Benjamin Franklin
B) George Washington
C) John Adams
D) Patrick Henry
E) Thomas Jefferson

Question 12

Which of these presidents is arguably the first modern president?

A) Franklin Delano Roosevelt
B) Herbert Hoover
C) Ronald Reagan
D) Theodore Roosevelt
E) Woodrow Wilson

Question 13

Which one of the powers listed below is a constitutional power that the president shares with the Senate?

A) making treaties
B) commissioning officers
C) granting pardons
D) receiving foreign ambassadors
E) replacing Cabinet heads

Question 14

What is one of the reasons that power and responsibility of the presidency has grown since the early presidency?

A) The United States became a world power.
B) The United States became a simple free market economy.
C) The President's role increased, so the role of government could decrease.
D) The more contemporary presidents had to exercise their powers as commander in chief while earlier presidents did not.
E) The budget for government agencies has decreased leaving more responsibility to the president.

Question 15

What did George W. Bush's administration use to support the suggestion that the office of the president is free to exercise command and authority over the executive branch in all respects?

A) executive order
B) the take care clause
C) the vesting clause
D) executive privilege
E) theory of unitary executive

Question 16

According to the Constitution, how is the president supposed to be elected?

A) appointment through Congress
B) appointment through state legislatures
C) direct election by popular vote
D) election through the Electoral College
E) party primaries followed by popular vote

Question 17

Which vice president is considered to have been the most powerful?

A) Gerald Ford
B) Harry Truman
C) Dick Cheney
D) Al Gore
E) Joe Biden

Question 18

In which institutional resource are leaders both appointed by the president and approved by the Senate?

A) Executive Office of the President
B) White House staff
C) the Cabinet
D) Council of Economic Advisors
E) Federal Reserve

Question 19

Which presidential oversight includes the State of the Union address?

A) The president can issue executive orders and party agenda.
B) The president is commander in chief of the armed forces.
C) The president is in charge of federal departments and agencies.
D) The president is the negotiator in chief with foreign nations.
E) The president must inform and convene Congress.

Question 20

Throughout most of its history, which was considered an insignificant office?

A) attorney general
B) chief of staff
C) secretary of state
D) Speaker of the House
E) vice president

Question 21

Why is there the potential for conflict over virtually all aspects of government?

A) National legislatures choose the chief executives, so the unified parties need to be in control.
B) All constitutional powers are shared.
C) There is always a divided government.
D) Parties have been ideologically incohesive since the mid-1990s.
E) There are no checks and balances between the executive and legislative branches of government.

Question 22

What is the purpose of the Council of Economic Advisers?

A) to advise the president on economic policy
B) to assess legislative proposals for budgetary issues
C) to lobby Congress in defense of the president's budget
D) to prepare the president's budget
E) to review and recommend agency spending

Question 23

Which is one of the reasons that power and responsibility of the presidency has grown?

A) The presidents' use of the line-item veto has increased their power over the Congress.
B) The United States became a simple free market economy.
C) The budget for government agencies has decreased leaving more responsibility to the president.
D) Modern presidents have to exercise powers as commander in chief, while earlier presidents did not.
E) The United States has increased prominence on the world stage.

Question 24

Which of the following statements best describes contemporary relationships between presidents and Congress?

A) They are always passive, with Congress dominating the executive branch.
B) They are consensual in times of economic growth.
C) They are generally antagonistic.
D) They are generally hostile during periods of unified government.
E) They are always antagonistic during periods of foreign conflict.

Question 25

In which capacity is a modern vice president particularly influential in American politics?

A) as an advisor in the policy-making process
B) as a leader of the Cabinet
C) as a lead negotiator for executive agreements
D) as a fund-raiser for the president during reelection
E) as presiding officer of the Senate

Question 26

How might presidents use their powers of persuasion in the legislative process?

A) in leading public opinion to support their policy agendas
B) through the withholding of funds to prevent the implementation of specific laws
C) in leading public opinion to support signing statements on key pieces of legislation
D) in selecting majority and minority leaders in Congress
E) through direct lobbying of regulatory bureaucrats on the implementation of policy details

Question 27

Which group's major function is to help presidents execute laws and make decisions?

A) the White House staff
B) the Executive Office of the President
C) the first lady
D) the Cabinet
E) the Supreme Court

Question 28

What is the role of the National Security Council?

A) to advise the president on national security
B) to keep the president and first family secure
C) to manage and advise the president on the armed forces
D) to provide intelligence on national security to the president and Congress
E) to work independently of the executive on national security

Question 29

What role was Thomas Jefferson performing as president when he made the Louisiana Purchase?

A) chief executive
B) chief diplomat
C) chief legislator
D) chief of staff
E) chief of state/head of state

Question 30

Which of the following statements best characterizes the nature of the conflict between presidents and Congress?

A) The conflict is a by-product of the weakening of American political parties.
B) The conflict is integral to the design of the Constitution, deliberately intended by the authors of the constitution.
C) The conflict is a by-product of the recent polarization of the American party system.
D) The conflict is a by-product solely of divided government.
E) The conflict intensifies when Republicans control the presidency and Democrats control Congress.

Question 31

In which way do modern presidents differ from the original intentions of the Framers of the Constitution?

A) Modern presidents are considerably less democratic than the Framers originally intended.
B) Modern presidents have greater power as leaders of their political parties than the Framers originally intended.
C) Modern presidents are much more influential in the legislative process than the Framers originally intended.
D) Modern presidents are much less partisan than the Framers originally intended.
E) Modern presidents are more subservient to the will of Congress than the Framers originally intended.

Question 32

What makes the most impact on how successful a president is with getting measures that they favor enacted into law by Congress?

A) whether or not the president's party controls both houses of Congress
B) whether or not the president is willing to use his veto power
C) the president's willingness to order party members around
D) the support the vice president provides to passing legislation
E) what percentage of the popular vote the president had when elected

Question 33

What did the Framers do to avoid tyranny in the executive branch?

A) They made the president directly elected by the people.
B) They originally decided that the president should be elected by Congress.
C) They included separation of powers in the Constitution.
D) They did not allow the president to have military responsibility.
E) They limited the number of terms a president can serve.

Question 34

What role does a president play when celebrating a national holiday?

A) chief of state/head of state
B) chief diplomat
C) chief legislator
D) chief of staff
E) chief executive

Question 35

One of many ways the president can influence Congress is by __________.

A) presidential job approval
B) executive privilege
C) impeachment
D) negotiating treaties
E) pardoning

Question 36

Why was President Obama able to put together a substantial legislative record in his first two years?

A) Congress enacted the presidential ability to use a line-item veto.
B) Congress temporarily agreed to fewer programmatic requests.
C) He convinced moderate Republicans to support his agenda.
D) He had bigger and more cohesive party majorities in Congress.
E) He used his veto power more than any other president in his first term.

Question 37

Which best describes the president's constitutional duty to Congress?

A) The president must give Congress an occasional update on the state of the union.
B) The president must have at least one Cabinet member of the opposing party.
C) The president must inform Congress of actions potentially leading to war.
D) The president must inform Congress of the reasoning behind a veto.
E) The president must maintain party support in Congress.

Question 38

Which organization or position examines the budgetary implications of any proposed bill that will be sent to Congress?

A) Secretary of the Treasury
B) Office of Management and Budget
C) Council of Economic Advisers
D) Chief of Staff
E) White House Staff

Question 39

Which examines the cost implications of a proposed bill?

A) secretary of the treasury
B) Office of Management and Budget
C) secretary of commerce
D) chief of staff
E) federal reserve

Question 40

The chief of staff, national security adviser, and press secretary are member of which group?

A) White House staff
B) Office of Administration
C) the Cabinet
D) Executive Office of the President
E) the Office of the Vice President

Question 41

How has the democratization of the president's office since the Constitution was written created a mandate for the president?

A) Since public approval has become much more important to modern presidents, most presidents rely on the mandate and the polls to measure their popularity and increase their approval ratings.
B) The presidential mandate claimed by modern presidents makes it easier for them to get their choices of Supreme Court justices approved than in the past.
C) Because Congress sees the president as holding a mandate of the people, the legislators do not block the president's agenda as vehemently as legislators in the past did.
D) The president's mandate consists of the modern perception among members of Congress that, by virtue of having been elected, the president has the ability to manage the bureaucracy.
E) Because modern presidents are more dependent on the people for election and more involved in policy making than early presidents, they are prone to claim the mandate of the people when governing.

Question 42

Why was the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution adopted?

A) to clear up ambiguities over the constitutional provisions surrounding presidential powers to conduct war
B) to clear up ambiguities over the constitutional provisions surrounding the role of the vice president should the president die or become incapacitated
C) to clear up ambiguities over the constitutional provisions surrounding the president's powers to negotiate treaties
D) to clear up ambiguities over the constitutional provisions surrounding the separate election of the vice president
E) to clear up ambiguities over the constitutional provisions surrounding the separation of powers between the executive branch and the legislative branch

Question 43

How might rallying events/rally-round-the-flag effect (a domestic or international crisis), affect presidential politics?

A) Rallying events lead to drops in presidential approval ratings, making passage of their agendas more difficult.
B) Rallying events have no effect on presidential politics.
C) Rallying events make presidents more politically cautious.
D) Rallying events tend to temporarily increase presidential approval ratings, providing windows of opportunity to press for action on their agendas.
E) Rallying events permanently increase presidential approval ratings, guaranteeing reelection.

Question 44

What best describes what the Framers had in mind when naming the president commander in chief?

A) The president should have the power to declare war.
B) The president should have the primary role in a defensive war.
C) The president should have the primary role in an offensive war.
D) Congress should have the primary role in a defensive war.
E) Congress should be the sole actor in the conduct of war.

Question 45

What was the turning point that gave rise to the modern institutional presidency?

A) the social strife arising from the civil rights movement
B) the economic and social turmoil of the Great Depression
C) the demands of managing a modern army during World War I
D) the rise and importance of television as a mechanism that brought the president into the living rooms of American citizens
E) the rapid contraction of government following the conclusion of World War II

Question 46

When might citizens be particularly concerned about an expansion of presidential power?

A) when they support the president's agenda
B) in times of economic crisis
C) during presidential election years
D) when they oppose the president's agenda
E) in times of relative peace and prosperity

Question 47

Refer to "Can Government Do Anything Well." The development of the National Park System can be attributed to Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Question 48

Presidents do not rely on their Cabinet as a decision-making body.

Question 49

Which of the following is a major concern surrounding current congressional-presidential relations?

A) Presidents are delegating too many constitutional powers to Congress.
B) The principle of the separation of powers is eroding in favor of expanded congressional power.
C) The principle of the separation of powers is eroding in favor of expanded presidential power.
D) Congress is overriding presidential vetoes too easily, effectively ending the Madisonian system of checks and balances.
E) Congressional oversight over the bureaucracy is making it impossible for presidents to carry out executive functions.

Question 50

Why was it significant that George Washington was the first person elected to the presidency?

A) His ambitions greatly expanded the powers of the presidency.
B) His early actions served to establish important precedents that greatly increased the political legitimacy of the office.
C) His military leadership as president was critical during the War of 1812.
D) His ambitions set up an early struggle between Congress and the presidency.
E) His early actions served to weaken the office of the presidency, making it subservient to Congress for much of American history.

Question 51

In crafting the executive branch, what was the motive behind the decisions of the Constitution's Framers?

A) to create an effective national leader directly tied to the citizens
B) to create a strong national leader who would have direct ties to state governors
C) to create an elite national leader removed from the direct control of citizens
D) to create a weak national leader that could easily be dominated by Congress
E) to create a plural executive with both symbolic and legislative responsibilities

Question 52

What distinguishes the modern presidency from the institution originally envisioned by the founders of the Constitution?

A) The modern presidency has become the central focus of American politics since the 1930s, supplanting Congress as the "first branch" of government.
B) The modern presidency is less involved in the development of foreign policy than the Framers intended.
C) Modern presidents exhibit a greater level of deference to Congress in budgetary matters than the Framers intended.
D) Modern presidents are much less democratic than the Framers intended.
E) Modern presidents are more cautious in advocating for their legislative agendas than the Framers intended.

Question 53

Which of the following statements explains the conflict that exists between Congress and the president in institutional terms?

A) It is the result of the rise of political parties in the aftermath of the adoption of the Constitution.
B) It is the result of the fact that president and Congress are often members of different political parties.
C) It is the result of the shared nature of power between Congress and the executive branch.
D) It is the result of the unitary nature of the executive branch, which gives presidents absolute control over the policy agenda in American politics.
E) It is the result of fact that the Constitution locates the office of the vice president in both the executive branch and the legislative branch.

Question 54

Refer to "Using the Democracy Standard," which of the following statements best characterizes the nature of the American presidency?

A) The presidency has become more democratic than the Framers intended.
B) The presidency has become less democratic than the Framers intended.
C) The presidency is less democratic than the Framers intended because of the influence of special interests.
D) The presidency is more democratic than the Framers intended because the office has become more interconnected with Congress.
E) The presidency is less democratic than the Framers intended because the office has become more interconnected with Congress.

Question 55

Which of the following statements provides the best characterization of the members of the White House staff?

A) The White House staff is a loose collection of bureaucrats who are loyal to executive agencies.
B) The White House staff is composed of individuals personally and politically close to the president chosen specifically to serve the president's needs.
C) The White House staff is composed of policy specialists who have little personal loyalty to the president.
D) The White House staff is the link between executive agencies in the bureaucracy and Congress.
E) The White House staff advises members of the Cabinet on how best to serve the needs of president.

Question 56

Which of the following leadership abilities is critical to presidential success?

A) the ability to enter into executive agreements
B) the ability to write legislation
C) the ability to persuade members of Congress and the American public
D) the ability to negotiate treaties
E) the ability to declare war

Question 57

How does the White House staff differ from the president's Cabinet?

A) The White House staff has greater access to and more influence on the president than the Cabinet.
B) The Cabinet has more access to the president than the White House staff.
C) The president can fire the White House staff but only Congress can dismiss a member of the Cabinet.
D) The Cabinet is less democratic and less accountable than the White House staff.
E) The White House staff has less specialized policy knowledge than the Cabinet.

Question 58

What distinguishes modern presidents from early presidents?

A) Modern presidents are much more liberal than early presidents.
B) Modern presidents are much less active in the formulation of policy than early presidents.
C) Modern presidents are much more active in the formulation of policy than early presidents.
D) Modern presidents are much less prone to engage in international conflicts than early presidents.
E) Modern presidents are much more conservative than early presidents.

Question 59

How has the office of vice president changed over the years?

A) The vice president is no longer trusted as he once was.
B) The vice president, who once was very involved, is now frozen out of the policy-making process.
C) The vice president has been more involved in the policy-making process in recent years than in the past.
D) The vice president used to be involved in important tasks, but now spends most of his time acting as a figurehead.
E) The vice presidency has become a prerequisite for the presidency.

Question 60

Which word best describes the language used by the Framers to describe the office of the president?

A) exact
B) static
C) deferential
D) florid
E) vague

Question 61

Historically, presidents begin their terms of office with high approval ratings and tend to lose popularity over time.

Question 62

If you lived in the eighteenth century, you would have considered your president to be an elite leader who seldom interacted with the public.

Question 63

The creation of the Cabinet came with the expansion of presidential powers.

Question 64

Barack Obama used his veto power less at the beginning of his term.

Question 65

The Framers placed most national policy-making powers in Congress.

Question 66

Presidents tend to work better with Congress on foreign policy issues than on domestic issues.

Question 67

The __________ address has become one of the most important tools a president can use to call attention to the presidential agenda.

Question 68

The Intelligence Advisory Board provides information and assessments to the president's director of national intelligence and to the president directly.

Question 69

The ability to persuade has always been central to a successful president.

Question 70

A __________ is a formal international agreement between two or more countries; in the United States, requires the "advice and consent" of the Senate.

Question 71

Because of the increase in the number of presidential advisers and helpers, the expansion of their responsibilities, and the necessity of the functions they perform, the president's advisors and helpers are described as a(n) __________ presidency.

Question 72

A divided government is when the president and the majority in one or both chambers of Congress belong to different parties.

Question 73

Vetoes are rarely overridden.

Question 74

Congress has the sole authority to declare war.

Question 75

The __________ usually consists of heads of the major executive departments, plus the vice president and other officials the president sees appropriate.

Question 76

__________ is an agreement with another country signed by the president that has the force of law but does not require Senate approval.

Question 77

Franklin D. Roosevelt's __________ enacted programs such as Social Security and commissions to regulate aspects of business such as the stock market.

Question 78

The Constitution lays out the plan for presidential power in great detail.

Question 79

The Framers seemed to think that the president would have the decision-making power in a defensive war and that Congress would have the decision-making power in an offensive war.

Question 80

The __________ is the president's top advisor and supervises other staff members and organizes much of what the president does.