Exam 2 - quizzes 5-8

Question 1

Farmers who pay attention to farm policy or retired persons and their doctors who keep tabs on Medicare are examples of

a) issue publics
b) opinion leaders
c) thought leaders
d) high demanders

Answer 1

a) issue publics

Question 2

The patterns of public opinion with regard to torture illustrate that

a) Americans hold clear and well-defined opinions opposing the use of torture.
b) most Americans are well-versed on major issues, and while they consider the cues from party leaders, they generally make up their own minds based on the facts.
c) Americans hold clear and well-defined opinions supporting torture if it would protect the country from a terrorist attack.
d) the opinions most people hold on political issues rely heavily on cues and signals the leaders of their preferred party send on the issues.

Answer 2

d) the opinions most people hold on political issues rely heavily on cues and signals the leaders of their preferred party send on the issues.

Question 3

The fact that some people in the United States may not have a telephone or only have a cell phone or refuse to participate in polls illustrates what about scientific polling?

a) Pollsters can overcome any problems with the sample to make sure the results are not biased.
b) No poll is completely free of the biases they introduce in drawing the sample.
c) Nothing really because these people constitute a very small part of the population.
d) There is really no such thing as scientific polling and these problems make polls unreliable.

Answer 3

b) No poll is completely free of the biases they introduce in drawing the sample.

Question 4

Regular elections, broad suffrage, freedom of speech and the press, and freedom to join or form political organizations are significant because

a) they are mechanisms through which the government distracts the public from policy.
b) they ensure that government leaders can simply do their jobs without worrying about public opinion.
c) they mean that government leaders always know precisely what the public’s opinion is.
d) they compel government leaders to take the public’s opinion into account if they want to keep their jobs.

Answer 4

d) they compel government leaders to take the public’s opinion into account if they want to keep their jobs.

Question 5

The experiences of Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush illustrate

a) that the level of public approval for Republican presidents declines more sharply than for Democratic candidates.
b) that the level of support for Republican presidents is always higher when there is some type of international crisis.
c) that the level of public approval for the President rarely deviates very much.
d) that the level of approval for presidents typically varies from month to month with economic conditions and international events.

Answer 5

d) that the level of approval for presidents typically varies from month to month with economic conditions and international events.

Question 6

Because the fit between the words and concepts used in polling questions and how people actually think about issues is never perfect, even the most carefully designed question

a) is subject to some measurement error.
b) can result in an essentially fabricated gauge of public opinion.
c) is only right about 47 percent of the time.
d) can fail to provide any accurate information.

Answer 6

a) is subject to some measurement error.

Question 7

When it comes to the relationship between public opinion and public policy

a) studies find that the more prominent the issue, the less likely public opinion is to be influential.
b) the structure of the American system of government prevents public opinion from systematically affecting public policy.
c) studies have demonstrated that public opinion significantly affected public policy in three-quarters of instances.
d) scholars have found that because elections are so important, any changes in public opinion are automatically reflected in changes in public policy.

Answer 7

c) studies have demonstrated that public opinion significantly affected public policy in three-quarters of instances.

Question 8

Unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise, Americans interpret political phenomena

a) the way that the media tell them to.
b) in ways that favor their preferred party.
c) without regard for party identity.
d) based mainly on the objective facts.

Answer 8

b) in ways that favor their preferred party.

Question 9

Which president started the trend of having an in-house pollster taking regular readings of the public pulse?

a) Bill Clinton
b) Dwight D. Eisenhower
c) Harry Truman
d) Jimmy Carter

Answer 9

d) Jimmy Carter

Question 10

Which of the following was not a reason why the Literary Digest predicted the 1936 presidential election incorrectly?

a) Only a small percentage of the ballots were actually returned and the respondents did not resemble the population.
b) The size of the sample was too big so that the margin of error in the poll was not precise.
c) The ballots were sent out too early and failed to capture any late-breaking trends.
d) The sample was badly biased for an election that divided the electorate strongly along economic lines.

Answer 10

b) The size of the sample was too big so that the margin of error in the poll was not precise.

Question 11

The franking privilege

a) allows members of Congress free access to the postal system for official correspondence.
b) gives members of Congress free unlimited broadcast time on C-SPAN.
c) refers to the weekly free lunches members of Congress provide reporters.
d) refers to confidential information given to reporters under the condition that they not reveal their sources.

Answer 11

a) allows members of Congress free access to the postal system for official correspondence.

Question 12

In the presidential election of 1872, both Horace Greeley, the Democratic presidential candidate, and Henry Wilson, running mate for incumbent Republican president Ulysses S. Grant, were

a) newspaper publishers.
b) cousins of William Randolph Hearst.
c) sued by newspapers for making allegations about the lack of journalistic truthfulness.
d) reporters who had covered the Civil War.

Answer 12

a) newspaper publishers.

Question 13

The costs of transmitting a news product to each consumer is known as

a) unit costs.
b) shot costs.
c) head count costs.
d) delivery costs.

Answer 13

a) unit costs.

Question 14

What does the example of the Pentagon Papers illustrates about the doctrine of prior restraint?

a) The government can easily make a case that the press should not be allowed to publish national security documents while the nation is at war.
b) The courts have been skeptical of the claims of the press, and the government can operate under a presumption of secrecy.
c) Exercising prior restraint requires the government to demonstrate that the publication of documents would damage national security.
d) The Supreme Court prefers to avoid these issues so the legislative and executive branches can resolve the problems

Answer 14

c) Exercising prior restraint requires the government to demonstrate that the publication of documents would damage national security.

Question 15

During the early days of the republic, newspapers

a) rarely reported on politics or government at all.
b) advocated party platforms, promoted candidates, and attacked the political opposition.
c) were almost always nonpartisan.
d) were primarily full of objective news reporting.

Answer 15

b) advocated party platforms, promoted candidates, and attacked the political opposition.

Question 16

How have the courts played a vital role in protecting the media under the First Amendment?

a) By limiting the subsidies provided to news organizations to ensure their independence
b) By ruling that the press is a constitutionally protected fourth branch of the government that may write anything it wishes
c) By requiring politicians to answer questions from the press and expanding the availability of government documents
d) By limiting government efforts to exercise prior restraint and limiting the press’s exposure to libel and slander laws

Answer 16

d) By limiting government efforts to exercise prior restraint and limiting the press’s exposure to libel and slander laws

Question 17

“Yellow journalism” was a term first used at the end of the nineteenth century that referred to

a) those papers published south of the Mason–Dixon line
b) all of the penny press papers
c) the use of outrageous and inflammatory headlines as well as sensational stories to attract readers to newspapers
d) reliance by journalists on services to provide most of their stories

Answer 17

c) the use of outrageous and inflammatory headlines as well as sensational stories to attract readers to newspapers

Question 18

Walter Lippman’s view of the press was

a) working closely with politicians to gently lead the public in the right direction on the most important matters of public policy.
b) providing the information a good citizen needed to know to function in a democracy.
c) holding politicians accountable for all of their actions.
engaging in muckraking so that the endemic corruption d) would be exposed and citizens should be cynical of their government.

Answer 18

b) providing the information a good citizen needed to know to function in a democracy.

Question 19

The Watergate scandal broke and Richard Nixon was forced to resign largely due to which of the following?

a) The House banking scandal
b) The House investigation into impropriety in the savings and loan industry
c) A casual conversation between President Nixon and Henry Kissinger, which was overheard by a reporter at a state dinner .
d) The Senate investigation spurred by the “leaks” of “Deep Throat.”

Answer 19

d) The Senate investigation spurred by the “leaks” of “Deep Throat.”

Question 20

In March 2011, Senator Rand Paul responded to President Barack Obama’s nationally televised address on military action in Libya by

a) posting his own video on YouTube.
b) writing an op-ed for the New York Times.
c) a televised rebuttal.
d) speaking from the Senate in a televised speech.

Answer 20

a) posting his own video on YouTube.

Question 21

Which of the following statements about spending in House elections is true?

a) House incumbents have such an advantage that no matter how much money challengers raise it is not enough.
b) The only route to success for challengers is raising and spending more money than incumbents.
c) The more challengers spend, the more likely they are to win, but few spend enough to be competitive.
d) The more money incumbents spend, the greater their chances of winning reelection.

Answer 21

c) The more challengers spend, the more likely they are to win, but few spend enough to be competitive.

Question 22

Elections allow ordinary citizens to, in aggregate,

a) reward or punish elected officials for their performance in office.
b) express how they feel about government although elected officials do not take the voters’ views into account when they make policy choices.
c) essentially support the status quo.
d) avoid working for the duration of election day.

Answer 22

a) reward or punish elected officials for their performance in office.

Question 23

The effect of the Supreme Court decision in Buckley v. Valeo (1976) was that

a) reporting requirements and contribution limits were constitutional, but limits on spending violated the free speech protections of the First Amendment.
b) limits on aggregate contributions from individuals was unconstitutional.
c) Congress did not have the authority to establish campaign finance laws because elections were regulated by the states.
d) corporations were entitled to the same free speech protections in the First Amendment as individuals.

Answer 23

a) reporting requirements and contribution limits were constitutional, but limits on spending violated the free speech protections of the First Amendment.

Question 24

What have scholars discovered about voting based on a number of different field experiments?

a) Telephone calls stressing the importance of voting increased turnout the most.
b) Television advertising about the closeness of the election had the greatest effect on turnout.
c) Personal visits combined with a message about the closeness of the election increased turnout the most.
d) Americans have become so apathetic that there is very little that can be done to increase voter turnout above 50 percent.

Answer 24

c) Personal visits combined with a message about the closeness of the election increased turnout the most.

Question 25

Universal suffrage for women was achieved

a) at the end of World War II with the adoption of the Universal Women’s Suffrage Act.
b) through state-level action alone; the national government has never formally changed the Constitution but has simply reinterpreted it to include women.
c) in 1920 with the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment.
d) after the Civil War with the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Answer 25

c) in 1920 with the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment.

Question 26

Spending in presidential campaigns

a) has decreased substantially since all candidates accept public financing.
b) is distributed nationally because that is the only way to win the national popular vote.
c) is increasingly devoted to efforts that will mobilize voters more effectively.
d) is focused on television advertising especially in the battleground states.

Answer 26

d) is focused on television advertising especially in the battleground states.

Question 27

The experiences of Michael Dukakis in 1988 or Mitt Romney in 2012 illustrate that

a) candidates can be successful even without having a particularly memorable message.
b) the actions of candidates can convey a message subverting the one intended.
c) a campaign cannot succeed if they do not spend a significant amount of money promoting their message.
d) it is important to develop a message and communicate it before your opponent does.

Answer 27

b) the actions of candidates can convey a message subverting the one intended.

Question 28

The 2014 election

a) saw Republicans expand their majority in the House of Representatives while recapturing a majority in the Senate.
b) maintained a Republican majority in the House of Representatives, but resulted in a 50–50 tie in the Senate.
c) maintained the status quo of a Republican majority in the House of Representatives and a Democratic majority in the Senate.
d) allowed Democrats to recapture control of the House of Representatives so there was unified government.

Answer 28

a) saw Republicans expand their majority in the House of Representatives while recapturing a majority in the Senate.

Question 29

Why is it logical for citizens to not vote?

a) The benefits are individual, but since governments do not provide many tangible benefits, the costs of voting outweigh the benefits.
b) The system of separated institutions sharing powers provides more influence to the unelected branches of the government, such as the judiciary and the bureaucracy.
c) Votes do not really matter because politicians can manipulate the public into believing whatever they want.
d) The benefits are collective and they enjoy the payoff even if they have not helped to produce them by voting.

Answer 29

d) The benefits are collective and they enjoy the payoff even if they have not helped to produce them by voting.

Question 30

What was one of the consequences of the 2014 midterm election?

a) While Republicans would not have enough votes to reverse President Obama’s signature legislative achievements, voters loudly and clearly repudiated the President.
b) It reinforced Democratic majorities so that President Obama was able to pivot from his signature legislative achievements and pursue new ones on climate change.
c) Republicans built large enough majorities in both the House and Senate so they would be able to easily override any vetoes President Obama might issue.
d) It provided the Republicans with an opportunity to quickly repeal and replace President Obama’s signature legislative achievements.

Answer 30

a) While Republicans would not have enough votes to reverse President Obama’s signature legislative achievements, voters loudly and clearly repudiated the President.

Question 31

In An Economic Theory of Democracy, Anthony Downs defined a political party as

a) a machine with interchangeable parts.
b) a team of men seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election.
c) any organization that seeks to influence the outcomes of elections.
d) a body of men united for promoting by their joint endeavors and the national interest, based on some particular principle on which they are all agreed.

Answer 31

b) a team of men seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election.

Question 32

Political parties are

a) prohibited by the Constitution, although the First Amendment overrides the prohibition.
b) not mentioned in the Constitution.
c) prohibited by the Constitution, although the Supreme Court struck down the prohibition shortly after the first Congress met.

Answer 32

b) not mentioned in the Constitution.

Question 33

Duverger’s law explains

a) why the Electoral College is so frequently unable to choose the President.
b) why office seekers will frequently pursue office as independents or third-party nominees.
c) why in any election in which a single winner is chosen by plurality voting, there is a strong tendency for serious competitors to be reduced to two.
d) why plurality elections always lead to party systems with more than two major competitors.

Answer 33

c) why in any election in which a single winner is chosen by plurality voting, there is a strong tendency for serious competitors to be reduced to two.

Question 34

What is the term used to describe politicians’ awarding jobs, offices, government contracts, and other benefits to their supporters?

a) Graft
b) Patronage
c) Soft money
d) Kickback

Answer 34

b) Patronage

Question 35

Mitt Romney won the Republican Party presidential nomination by

a) portraying himself as a “severe conservative” and adopting issue positions consistent with this portrayal combined with superior financial resources.
b) using the delegate allocation rules to his advantage so he was able to dispatch all of his challengers rather easily.
c) maintaining a consistent record as a moderate governor who could win a general election.
d) presenting himself as a socially conservative candidate, which enabled him to overcome his lack of financial resources.

Answer 35

a) portraying himself as a “severe conservative” and adopting issue positions consistent with this portrayal combined with superior financial resources.

Question 36

The system of proportional representation

a) has declined in popularity around the world because having too many legislative parties creates too much uncertainty in government.
b) encourages voters to behave strategically by turning to one of the less objectionable major party candidates who has a chance to win.
c) tends to produce more legislative parties, but it has never been tried in the United States on any significant scale.
d) guarantees that no party will receive a majority.

Answer 36

c) tends to produce more legislative parties, but it has never been tried in the United States on any significant scale.

Question 37

What are the consequences of Duverger’s Law for political candidates?

a) They must join one of the existing parties.
b) Joining one of the major parties guarantees that a candidate will have sufficient financial resources to run a competitive campaign.
c) It forces candidates to strategically align their positions on the issues with the party so they can take full advantage of the party label.
d) Office seekers usually join one of the two competitive parties rather than pursuing office as independents or third-party nominees.

Answer 37

d) Office seekers usually join one of the two competitive parties rather than pursuing office as independents or third-party nominees.

Question 38

What were two of the more important reforms of the Progressive Era?

a) The “coal brigade” and the provision of civil war pensions
b) The Australian ballot and primary elections
c) Patronage and the provision of national pensions
d) The poll tax and the spoils system

Answer 38

b) The Australian ballot and primary elections

Question 39

Why did the Framers have such a pervasive fear of political parties?

a) The strength of the British crown was rooted in the party system.
b) Because men could not be trusted, any permanent alliances would naturally lead to tyranny.
c) The rigidity of the party system in the colonies generated a great deal of free riding and nearly undermined the American Revolution.
d) Historical experiences about the dangers that resulted from factional strife along with eighteenth century social beliefs caused the fear.

Answer 39

d) Historical experiences about the dangers that resulted from factional strife along with eighteenth century social beliefs caused the fear.

Question 40

Typically more than half of voters tell pollsters that the two major parties

a) do such a great job that a major third party is not needed.
b) do such a poor job that a third major party is needed.
c) have co-opted the best ideas from the Constitution Party.
d) satisfy their policy options so no additional parties are needed other than the Green Party.

Answer 40

b) do such a poor job that a third major party is needed.

have co-opted the best ideas from the Constitution Party.