Question 1
A pocket veto differs from a regular presidential veto in that the pocket veto
applies only to a section of the legislation in question.
applies only to expenditure legislation.
occurs when the president decides to veto a bill he had previously signed.
can take effect only when the Congress is not in session.
occurs when the president goes before Congress to announce a veto.
Question 2
Which of the following is a formal constitutional requirement for becoming president?
must be at least 40 years of age
must be a resident in the United States for at least 10 years
must be a natural-born citizen
must be a white male
must be a Protestant
Question 3
Which of the following characteristics does the Internet have that traditional media lack?
the ability to take partisan viewpoints
the ability to allow readers to interact with news reporting
the ability to exercise rights of the First Amendment
the ability to report instantaneously on news items
All these s are correct.
Question 4
The yellow journalism of the late nineteenth century was characterized by
the use of the telegraph.
the emphasis on sensationalism as a way of selling newspapers.
prejudice against Asian people and countries.
an unwillingness to take editorial positions because of a fear of losing circulation.
the desire to present the news in an objective manner.
Question 5
Since the founding of the United States, the debate over the representation function of Congress has centered on whether
key decisions should be made by a small number of representatives in committee or by the whole membership in floor debate.
the primary concern of a representative should be the interests of the nation or of his or her constituency.
congressional or presidential authority should dominate on broad issues.
the House or the Senate is more responsive to the public.
the House or the Senate should take the lead on foreign policy issues.
Question 6
News media coverage of Congress and the president is
about equal in amount.
heavily tilted toward presidential coverage.
largely focused on Congress and its members.
typically focused on areas where there is consensus between the two institutions.
typically focused on areas where the House as opposed to the Senate is the leading chamber.
Question 7
Which of the following is a reason that the nation did not routinely need a strong president during most of the nineteenth century?
the small policymaking role of the federal government
the sectional nature of the nation's major issues
the U.S. government's small role in world affairs
all of these factors: the small policymaking role of the federal government; the sectional nature of the nation's major issues; and the U.S. government's small role in world affairs
None of these s is correct.
Question 8
The presidency is an
extraordinarily strong office with sufficient powers to enable the president to control national policy under virtually all circumstances.
inherently weak office, in that presidents have almost no capacity to influence the major directions of national policy.
office in which power is conditional, depending on whether the political support that gives force to presidential leadership exists or can be developed.
office where power depends almost entirely on its occupant; strong leaders are always successful presidents, and weak ones never succeed.
office where power is fairly constant, regardless of the occupant or the circumstances.
Question 9
The Whig theory holds that the presidency
is a shared office where the president and the cabinet are equally powerful.
is a limited office whose occupant is confined to the exercise of expressly granted constitutional powers.
is the office most representative of the people.
should provide strong leadership in the area of foreign policy but not in domestic policy.
is subordinate to the Supreme Court.
Question 10
Which of the following is one of the three major functions of Congress's policymaking role?
lawmaking
check the president
appease special interests
inform the people
check the Supreme Court
Question 11
Which institution receives the most news coverage from the national press?
the presidency
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Senate
U.S. Supreme Court
the federal bureaucracy
Question 12
For a bill to pass in either chamber of Congress, it must
receive the support of a third of its members.
receive the support of a simple majority of its members.
receive the support of two-thirds of its members.
be passed within two weeks of its passage by the other chamber.
be passed within a month of its passage by the other chamber.
Question 13
On-the-scene coverage of a natural disaster is an example of the press's role of
watchdog.
signaler.
partisan advocate.
common-carrier.
interpreter.
Question 14
What is the strategy employed in the Senate to prevent a bill from coming to a vote?
mark up
filibuster
cloture
pocket veto
conference committee
Question 15
Objective journalism is based on the idea that the reporter's job is to
report the facts and cover alternative sides of a partisan debate.
report what political leaders want them to report.
discover what other reporters are saying and provide a uniform interpretation of events.
scrutinize the partisan debate, and inform the news audience about which party has the better argument.
All these s are correct.
Question 16
The news media's common-carrier role is based on the idea that
the news will be available to all citizens.
various news organizations should interpret the news in nearly the same way.
the press should not charge for public service announcements.
the press should provide a channel through which political leaders can communicate their views to the public.
the press should be patriotic in the reporting of the news.
Question 17
Under which president did the Electoral College selection process change to a popular vote?
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
Question 18
Compared with the Senate majority leader, the Speaker of the House has more power because
the House places more limits on debate.
the House is the larger chamber in terms of membership.
the House has less of a tradition as a chamber of equals.
the Speaker is that chamber's presiding officer.
All these s are correct.
Question 19
The second-most powerful federal official (after the president) is often said to be the
chair of the House Appropriations Committee.
president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate.
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Senate majority leader.
Question 20
Which of the following is part of the Executive Office of the President?
Office of Management and Budget
National Economic Council
National Security Council
Office of Legislative Affairs
All these s are correct.
Question 21
Senators are generally less likely to take directions from their leaders than House members because
senators are prohibited by their state legislatures from taking orders from others.
senators think of themselves as being equals and are only willing to be led by persuasion.
senators are more highly paid than House members and are thus immune from financial threats.
House rules mandate that all party members on major bills must vote according to the directions of their leaders.
All these s are correct.
Question 22
The presidency was created by Article ________ of the U.S. Constitution.
I
II
III
IV
VII
Question 23
There are currently ________ voting members of the U.S. House of Representatives and ________ voting members of the U.S. Senate.
535; 100
435; 100
150; 31
300; 100
600; 300
Question 24
The media perform the signaling role by
informing the public of breaking events and new developments.
serving as an open channel for leaders to express their opinions.
exposing officials who violate accepted performance and moral standards.
acting as the public's representative.
All these s are correct.
Question 25
How has the Internet affected the watchdog role of the media?
It has diluted the watchdog capacity with an overflow of opinions.
It has expanded the watchdog capacity of the media.
It has tainted the watchdog role with a partisan bent.
It has almost completely usurped the watchdog role from the traditional media outlets.
It has had little to no effect because it lacks the objective standards of traditional media outlets.
Question 26
When the House and Senate pass different versions of a bill, the differences are resolved by a
conference committee.
standing committee.
select committee.
rules committee.
joint committee.
Question 27
Which of the following did the framers want from a president?
national leadership
administration of the laws
statesmanship in foreign affairs
command of the military
All these s are correct.
Question 28
________ once said, "You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war".
Joseph Pulitzer
Theodore Roosevelt
William Randolph Hearst
Woodrow Wilson
William McKinley
Question 29
The War Powers Act was enacted in order to
guide the military in its use of force in field situations where it is impractical to seek direction from the president.
allow the president more leeway in committing U.S. troops to combat.
define the relationship between the United States and its allies.
limit the president's war-making power.
weaken Congress in foreign policy matters.
Question 30
Congress's inability to consistently provide leadership on broad national issues is due to
the lack of talented leadership in Congress.
the fragmented nature of Congress.
constitutional restrictions on Congress's lawmaking powers.
the constant threat of a presidential veto.
opposition from the mass media.
Question 31
The dominant policymaking political institution during most of the nineteenth century was
the president and the executive branch.
Congress.
the Supreme Court.
the bureaucracy.
the mass media.
Question 32
CNN and MSNBC have responded to Fox's ratings success by
reducing the number of talk shows in their line-up.
increasing the number of talk shows hosted by liberals.
attempting to lure audiences by focusing on their unbiased news reporting.
installing talk-show hosts with nonpartisan appeal.
installing talk-show hosts with partisan or hard-edged appeals.
Question 33
The modern Congress is different from the nineteenth century Congress in that most members
are now professional politicians who want to stay in Congress.
are now amateur politicians who want only to spend a short time in Congress.
are now minorities or women.
now have previously been governors of their home states.
return to their respective state legislatures after their congressional service is over.
Question 34
Which of the following was a provision of the War Powers Act?
It prohibits the president from sending troops into combat.
It requires hostilities to end within sixty days unless Congress extends the period.
It requires Congress to consult with the president whenever feasible before passing measures that will restrict president-ordered military action.
It requires the president to inform Congress within one month of the reason for the military action.
It removes from Congress the power to restrict the timing or size of president-initiated military actions.
Question 35
Most of the legislative work of Congress is performed by
the standing committees and their subcommittees with jurisdiction over particular policy areas.
the joint committees chosen to coordinate actions between the two chambers of Congress.
the select committees chosen to study special problems on a temporary basis.
the steering committees that decide how the party stands on particular bills.
party leaders in both chambers.
Question 36
Which of the following states gives one Electoral College vote to the winner of each congressional district and two Electoral College votes to the statewide winner?
Texas
Maine
New York
New Hampshire
Iowa
Question 37
One special contribution of Internet-based news is that it
provides the ordinary citizen with an opportunity to be part of the news system.
provides much faster reporting.
offers more unbiased reporting.
prevents rampant editorializing.
is more accessible by a larger audience than television or radio news reporting.
Question 38
How did Theodore Roosevelt change the conception of the presidency?
He altered the stewardship theory to reduce the power of the presidency while remaining an activist president.
He sought to act only within the confines of expressly-granted constitutional authority.
He rejected the idea of the "strong presidency".
He cast aside the stewardship theory in favor of the Whig theory.
He cast aside the Whig theory in favor of the stewardship theory.
Question 39
The forced removal of a president from office through impeachment and conviction requires action by the
House of Representatives only.
Senate only.
House and Senate in a joint session.
House and Senate in separate proceedings.
Supreme Court in a judicial proceeding.
Question 40
The reason the news product is designed to fascinate as well as to inform is because
news organizations are fundamentally businesses and must obtain revenue to survive.
of the high level of illiteracy.
the print media wish to emulate the broadcast media.
of the need to compete with Hollywood productions.
All these s are correct.
Question 41
A standing committee in the House or Senate
is a permanent committee.
has jurisdiction over a particular policy area.
has authority to draft, amend, and recommend legislation.
is usually organized according to the seniority principle.
All these s are correct.
Question 42
Yellow journalism contributed to public support for the
Spanish-American War.
Civil War.
War of 1812.
Mexican War of 1848.
American Revolution.
Question 43
Through a vote for cloture, the Senate
confirms presidential appointees.
can end a filibuster.
overrides a presidential pocket veto.
accepts the House version of a bill.
closes its legislative session for the year.
Question 44
The president's constitutional roles, such as chief executive and commander in chief,
are based on very precise constitutional grants of power.
are rooted in tradition only; they have no basis in the language of the Constitution.
are not subject to check by Congress.
have expanded in practice to be more powerful than the writers of the Constitution intended.
are absolute powers under the Constitution.
Question 45
A bill has been approved in the House and Senate, albeit in slightly different versions. The bill now goes to
the president for his or her veto or signature.
a conference committee.
the standing committees in the House and Senate where the bill originated.
the House Rules Committee.
the Senate Rules Committee.
Question 46
A president's policy initiatives are significantly more successful when the president
has the strong support of the American people.
is a former member of Congress.
is on good terms with other world leaders.
is in office when the economy goes bad, which creates a demand for stronger leadership.
None of these s is correct.
Question 47
Which of the following statements is true?
Political parties are unimportant in the organization of the U.S. Congress.
Party-line voting rarely occurs in Congress.
Party-line voting has increased in recent years.
Partisanship makes virtually no difference in the votes cast in Congress.
None of these s is correct.
Question 48
The presidential advisory unit that, as a whole, has declined significantly as an advisory resource for the president in the twentieth century is the
Council of Economic Advisers.
Office of Management and Budget.
White House Office.
National Security Council.
the Cabinet (as a whole).
Question 49
The selection of the vice presidential nominee at the national convention is based on the
results of the primaries and caucuses; the candidate who places second in these contests is nominated as the running mate of the candidate who finishes first.
convention delegates' judgment as to the candidate who would make the best vice president.
results of public opinion polls taken just before the convention begins.
presidential nominee's choice of a running mate.
None of these s is correct.
Question 50
The president's role in foreign policy increased largely because
Congress proved so inept in foreign affairs that the American people demanded a change.
America became more of a world power.
of the need to coordinate national economic policy and foreign policy, a task to which the presidency was well suited.
of the desire of U.S. business to expand into Latin America and Asia, which required executive action at the highest level.
of attitudes held by the American public.