The Presidency Review Questions
The Presidency Review Questions:
2. A “unified government” might be
Something of a myth
3. The Framers solved the problem of how to elect the president by
Creating the Electoral College
4. The Framers assumed that under the Electoral College system, most presidential elections would be decided in the House. Why did this not turn out to be the case?
Because political parties ended up playing a major role in producing nationwide support for a slate of national candidates
5. All of the following are powers that only the president is constitutionally entitled to exercise except
Approving Supreme Court Justices
6. The greatest source of presidential power lies in the realm of
. Politics and public opinion
7. Today, senior White House staff members are drawn from the ranks of
The president’s campaign staff
8. Personality plays a more important role in explaining the presidency than it does in explaining Congress because a president is
More likely to be judged by his character in addition to his accomplishments
9. When a presidential candidate talks on the campaign trail of the many good things that he or she would accomplish as president, he or she is appealing principally to
d. The general public
10. A bill is passed to the president for action while Congress is still in sessions. After ten days he or she has still not approve it. What happens to the bill?
c. It becomes law
11. A federal court has ruled that pocket vetoes cannot be issued just before
b. Recess
12. Presidential claims of executive privilege are based on the separation of powers on
e. The need for candid advice from aides
13. Presidential impoundment of funds has been severely limited in recent years because of
b. The Budget Reform Act of 1974
14. A president who is uncertain whether a policy he or she is considering will be controversial would be most likely to
a. b. Leak parts of the policy to the media
c. Commission a public opinion poll
15. Which of the following statements about a president’s serving more than two terms is correct?
d. It is outlawed by the 22nd amendment
6. The constitutional duty of the vice president is to
Preside over the Senate
17. “I do not choose to be buried until I am already dead.” – Daniel Webster
Webster most likely made the above comment when he turned down the position of
e. Vice-President
18. The U.S. president currently does not have the line-item veto because
d. The Supreme Court ruled the line-item veto unconstitutional
19. When nominating federal judges, a president must be most directly concerned with the candidate’s acceptability to the
d. Senate
20. Presidential vetoes are rarely overturned. However, in which of the following scenarios would a presidential veto most likely be overturned?
d. The proposed legislation is controversial, and “divided government in both chambers” is in place.
21. In United States v. Nixon (1974) President Nixon refused to turn over recordings of his office conversations based on his power of
a. Executive privilege
22. Presidents have had the most success in changing the direction of decisions of the federal judiciary by
d. Using the appointment process to select judges with judicial philosophies similar to those of the President
Which of the following presidential appointments does not require Senate confirmation?
Press secretary
The political term “bully pulpit” is a reference to
Ability of the president to use his popularity and visibility to gain public approval for policy
The request of recent presidents for the line-item veto is a challenge to which of the following principles?
Separation of Powers
Under which circumstances may a bill become law without the President’s signature?
If the President does not veto a bill within ten days of its presentation to him/her during a regular session of Congress
If Congress overrides a veto with a ⅔ vote in each house
Term limits currently apply to
President
Cabinet members often do not have a dominant influence on presidential decision-making because
Broader presidential goals sometimes conflict with institutional goals of a specific cabinet department
Which of the following procedures results in the removal of the President from office?
The House votes for impeachment and the Senate conducts the trial and reaches a guilty verdict