Who has the power to enforce laws?

1. Who has the power to enforce laws? President (Executive Branch)

2. Which branch of government must approve the President’s decision to deploy troops? • None (trick question) • Although the 1973 War Powers Act places limits on the President’s ability to do this

3. What is the chief difference between a President and a Prime Minister? The President is an independent executive power (potential divided government), the PM always comes from the majority party in the legislature

4. Identify three key types of federal officials that are appointed by the President. SC Justices, ambassadors, cabinet members

5. How long is a President’s term in office? How many terms can one president serve? 4 years, 2 terms (22nd Amendment established this in 1951)

6. What are three of the Constitutional requirements for being President? 35 years of age, natural born citizen of the U.S., resident for 14 years

7. What two types of government offices are held by people who later become President? senator & governor

8. What typically happens to Presidential candidates who are either very liberal or very conservative? Give an example. they are defeated, Goldwater or McGovern

9. What religious background have all but one of our Presidents come from? Who was the exception? Protestant (non-Catholic Christian), JFK

10. When you have more votes than your competition, but not a majority, you have a _____ of the votes. Name two presidents who won this way. • Plurality; Truman in ’48, Nixon in ‘68, Clinton in ‘92

11. Identify 5 constitutionally designated roles of the President. • Commander in Chief, Head of State, Present State of the Union, Negotiate treaties, Chief Executive (oversee Cabinet & Bur)

12. What are the primary roles of the White House staff? • Advise President on policy, handle relations with Congress and bureaucracy (cabinet), public & press relations (speech writing, etc.)

13. What term describes the process in which various interest groups come together to work towards a common goal (pass legislation, defeat a nomination, etc.)? • coalition building

14. What government entity is charged with determining voter eligibility requirements? • individual state governments get to decide the requirements for their respective states

15. Name three activities PACs engage in to gain access to legislature. • make campaign contributions, run issue ads, lobby, research

16. Which cabinet member is effectively the CEO of the Department of Justice? • Attorney General

17. How is the president chosen if no candidate wins a majority of the electoral vote? • the House chooses based on a majority vote of its state delegations (each state gets one vote)

18. What is a federal mandate? Give 1-2 examples. • A law in which the state governments must follow rules established by the federal government; Americans with Disabilities Act, No Child Left Behind, etc.

19. What is political efficacy?What demographics define voters who have it? • A citizen’s belief that they understand politics, and that their political participation matters; efficacy increases with age and education

20. What are “inherent powers” of the president? Give an example. • Powers exercised based on the authority granted be Article II, not specifically listed; Louisiana Purchase, internment of Nisei, half of the New Deal 

21. Name three traditional reasons for low voter turnout. • registration requirements, weak party affiliation, weekday elections, frequent local and state elections

22. What are 4-5 factors that play a role in how likely someone is to vote? • Their age, gender, education level, race, marital status, and whether or not they belong to a union

23. What is the “mandate theory of elections”? Do political scientists support this theory? • It’s the idea that voters “send a message” when they vote – so that those elected have their mandate to make change; pol scis do not support mandate theory

24. Since 1972, voters in presidential elections have been less tied to party loyalties and more interested in what? • the characteristics and positions of individual candidates

25. What are the three biggest influences on how someone decides to vote? • Party identification, their evaluations of the candidates, their views on specific policies

26. What are “motor voter” laws? What is their intent? • Laws that allow you to register to vote at the same time you apply for a drivers license; designed to increase voter registration

27. What religious group has enjoyed increasingly greater influence in the Republican Party since the early 1980s? • Evangelical Christians

28. What types of party members attend their party’s presidential nominating convention? • “strong” party voters, very ideological in their approach and dedicated to the party

29. What is a “pocket veto”? What effect does it have? • President takes no action on a bill for 10 days while Congress is not in session; it effectively kills the bill

30. What are four of the most common political actions of interest groups? • filing lawsuits, sponsoring advocacy ads, lobbying, testifying before Congress, issue related fundraising

31. How did the framers handle their fears regarding the abuse of executive power? Put many legislative & judicial checks on the executive in place

32. How did historians feel about the use of Presidential power in the two decades following WWII? How and why did that change in the 1960s & 1970s? They favored a powerful Presidency, but LBJ, the Vietnam War, Nixon, and Watergate made the public more fearful of Presidential power

33. Identify two major legislative checks on Presidential power. Veto override, impeachment, approval of appointments

34. Who are the first two people in line to succeed the President? the VP and then the Speaker of the House

35. Identify two ways the role of the VP has expanded since Eisenhower. represent U.S. to foreign countries, serve on the NSC, play a larger policy shaping role

36. Since Lady Bird Johnson, how have most First Ladies chosen to define their role? By focusing on one issue (beautification, literacy, healthier diet & exercise, etc.)

37. Who officially elects the President? How do you earn votes in this system? the electoral college, if you win the popular vote in a state you win all of the electoral votes

38. What is the group of the President’s advisors called? Cabinet (14 advisors plus the Attorney General

39. Identify four Cabinet Departments. Justice, State, HUD, Health and Human Services, Defense, Treasury, Interior, Labor, Commerce, Transportation, Education, VA, Homeland Security

40. Who approves cabinet appointees, do they generally accept or reject them? the Senate, accept

41. What are the two key factors that limit the role of the cabinet? conflicting loyalties with the President and maintaining secrecy with a large group (14 of them)

42. What committee is comprised of the President’s key foreign and military policy advisors? The National Security Council (NSC)

43. What is a power many governors have that the President would love to have? Why? • Line Item veto, gives power to veto individual parts of laws or budget items

44. What law, passed under the Johnson administration, set out to guarantee the provisions of the 15th Amendment? • Voting Rights Act of 1965, which solidified the right to vote regardless of race

45. What Office has responsibility for developing and administering the federal budget? How is it most impactful? The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), develops cost analyses for various proposals

46. Who is the highest ranking White House staff member? Identify two things Presidents count on receiving from their top level staffers. Chief of Staff; Information, analysis, policy options, and … loyalty! 

47. Why is party support so important to a sitting President? How much consistent support can a President actually count on? Needs full backing of party to pursue legislative agenda; two-thirds at any given time

48. What causes this gap in party loyalty to the President? The views of the various constituencies represented by members of Congress

49. What typically happens to the number of seats the President’s party holds in Congress as the result of a midterm election? The Party of the President typically loses seats in Congress during the midterms

50. What is the primary reason the Electoral College has not been reformed? Would require constitutional amendment, needing support of ¾ of state legislatures – many states don’t want to give up their power