Why Did Both President Richard Nixon and President George W

Multiple Choice

Why did both President Richard Nixon and President George W. Bush struggle to reverse the trend of, as they saw it, increased federal overreach into powers traditionally held by states?

A) Neither president had the goal of reducing the size of the federal government.
B) Both presidents felt that the states had enough power to govern themselves.
C) Both presidents found it far more difficult to extract federal interference in states than it was to introduce new federal powers.
D) Both presidents were forced to abandon their plans for a return to federalism due to complications of war and terrorism.
E) Both presidents were forced to admit defeat after numerous pieces of legislation were defeated by a coalition of states that did not see federal power as overreaching.