A political advisor who tries to convince journalists of the truth of a particular
interpretation of events is called a
a. news consultant.
b. flip-flopper.
c. spin doctor.
d. fact checker.
e. win engineer.
In 2000, the Supreme Court addressed the abortion issue directly when it reviewed a
Nebraska law banning
a. first trimester abortions.
b. “partialbirth” abortions.
c. abortions in cases of incest or rape.
d. abortions for women under the age of eighteen.
e. the “morningafter” pill.
One major set of ______ provides aid to state welfare programs.
a. categorical grants
b. program grants
c. federal mandates
d. block grants
e. municipal grants
The Supreme Court’s opinion in Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pea means that once an
affirmative action program has succeeded in achieving the purpose it was tailored to
meet, the program
a. must be changed or dropped.
b. should continue unchanged.
c. should be extended to other minority groups.
d. should be phased out over 18 months.
e. must be subjected to unannounced audits.
The Medicaid program is funded
a. in equal shares by every state.
b. by a tax on private insurance companies.
c. by a combination of state and federal taxpayers.
d. exclusively by the federal government.
e. exclusively by state governments.
An opinion leader is
a. one who is able to influence the opinions of others because of position, expertise, or
personality.
b. a pollster.
c. always someone whose job is to sway public opinion, such as a member of Congress.
d. a public relations expert.
e. someone who relies on position, or expertise, rather than something like personality.
Which of the following courts has jurisdiction in cases involving diversity of
citizenship or federal questions?
a. All courts
b. FISA Courts
c. Appeals courts
d. State courts
e. Federal courts
A federal grant that provides funds to a state or local government for a general
functional area is called a
a. project grant.
b. block grant.
c. community action grant.
d. basic grant.
e. categorical grant.
Currently, which of the following regions are more supportive of the Republicans than
the Democrats?
a. The West Coast and the Northeast
b. The South and the Northeast
c. The South, the Great Plains, and several of the Rocky Mountain states
d. The Midwest and the West Coast
e. The West Coast, the Great Plains, and several of the Rocky Mountain states
The most important feature of Athenian democracy was that
a. everyone could vote.
b. elected delegates made the important decisions.
c. it was an aristocracy.
d. the legislature was composed of all the citizens.
e. women were included in the legislature.
The process of electing members of Congress is
a. conducted at the national level by the federal government.
b. conducted at the local level by municipal governments.
c. decentralized and conducted by individual state governments.
d. not subject to any national statutes.
e. not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution.
Excluding military members, the number of federal government employees has
a. increased significantly in the last several decades.
b. remained relatively stable for the last several decades.
c. decreased substantially in the last few decades..
d. grown to exceed the number of local government employees.
e. grown to exceed the number of state government employees.
Reforms to the Federal Election Campaign Act in 1974 did NOT
a. limit campaign contributions.
b. provide public funding for presidential elections.
c. provide public funding for congressional elections.
d. require disclosure of contributions and spending.
e. create the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
In ___________, the Supreme Court held that if a person accused of a felony cannot
afford an attorney, one must be made available to the accused at the government’s
expense.
a. United States v. Jones
b. Lemon v. Kurtzman
c. Washington, D.C. v. Heller
d. Miranda v. Arizona
e. Gideon v. Wainwright
Regulatory policy
a. seeks to define what is and is not legal.
b. seeks to make income more evenly distributed across socioeconomic classes.
c. tries to promote the best interests of various groups over others.
d. attempts to maintain the status quo between different countries.
e. is created by cooperation between Democrats and Republicans.
In 2004, the legislature established the ______ to oversee the intelligence community.
a. Department of Homeland Security
b. National Security Council
c. vice presidency
d. Office of the Director of National Intelligence
e. State Department
A temporary funding law that Congress passes when an appropriations bill has NOT
been passed by the beginning of the fiscal year is
a. the Emergency Revenue Generation Act.
b. a continuing resolution.
c. an Emergency Fall Review.
d. a Second Temporary Budget Resolution.
e. a spring review.
All of the following are true of relations between China and the United Sates EXCEPT
a. since 1972, American policy has been to gradually engage the Chinese in diplomatic
and economic relationships in the hope of turning China in a more pro-Western
direction.
b. there are large and growing trade ties between the United States and China.
c. instead of goods and services, China has imported U.S. securities.
d. China exports substantially more goods and services to the United States than it
imports.
e. China was denied normal trade relations (NTR) status by the United States, which
has hurt their relationship.
Which of the following independent regulatory agencies was the first one created by
Congress?
a. The National Wildlife Service.
b. The Federal Reserve.
c. The Department of Health and Human Services.
d. The Office of Management and Budget.
e. The Interstate Commerce Commission.
Standing to sue is
a. determined by whether or not a court has jurisdiction over the matter.
b. determined by whether or not the Supreme Court will hear a case.
c. determined by whether or not a person or group has suffered a harm or has been
threatened harm as a result of the action that led to the dispute in question.
d. the decorum that is expected in dealing with the Supreme Court during trial.
e. also known as stare decisis.
All of the following are true about presidential appointments to the Supreme Court
EXCEPT
a. presidents usually appoint people who belong to the president’s political party.
b. presidents see their appointments as a way to institutionalize their political views
long after they have left office.
c. President Obama’s appointments to the Supreme Court changed the ideological
balance of the Court.
d. President Bush appointed two justices to the Supreme Court.
e. President Clinton appointed many judges to the district and appeals courts.
Political culture, to some extent, consists of symbols, such as
a. the American flag.
b. the Liberty Bell.
c. the Empire State Building.
d. Both options A and B are true.
e. None of the above is true.
A model of federalism in which the states and the national government work together to
solve problems is called
a. New Deal federalism.
b. compromise federalism.
c. continental federalism.
d. dual federalism.
e. cooperative federalism.
The best definition of foreign policy is
a. a nation’s external goals as well as the techniques and strategies used to achieve them.
b. the formal agreements that are approved by the World Court.
c. interactions with other countries that are not related to economics.
d. the collection of treaties that are ratified by the Senate.
e. the manner in which the armed forces are deployed.
Defamation of character is defined as
a. committing obscene acts using another person’s name.
b. publishing false statements about a person in a newspaper, book, or magazine.
c. hate speech.
d. making false statements about famous people.
e. wrongfully hurting a person’s good reputation.
President Obama was among a number of world leaders calling for
a. a lifting of sanctions against Iran.
b. the dissolution of the European Union.
c. trade sanctions against China.
d. an attack on Taiwan.
e. a German change of course in EU monetary policy.
Which of the following best describes the doctrine of stare decisis?
a. Higher courts can reverse lower court rulings.
b. Courts do not have jurisdiction in a case.
c. The court may refer a case to the next lowest court.
d. Judges must follow the precedents established by past decisions.
e. Judges must be guided by strict interpretation.
Ultimately, the Civil War resulted in
a. the end of the idea that social problems should be dealt with by the national
government.
b. the expansion of the agricultural sector of the U.S. economy.
c. a shift from a federal to a confederal system of government.
d. an increase in states’ rights.
e. an increase in the political power of national government.
Legislation that allows the government to conduct “roving” wiretaps has raised issues
under the
a. time, place, and manner test.
b. First Amendment.
c. conflict-with-legitimate-governmental-or-social-interests test.
d. “fighting words” test.
e. clear and present danger test.
Laws requiring that existing programs be reviewed regularly for their effectiveness and
be terminated unless specifically extended are called
a. trial legislation.
b. interim legislation.
c. sunshine legislation.
d. termination legislation.
e. sunset legislation.
In the context of civil rights, ______ is the transportation of public school students from
areas where they live to schools in other areas.
a. educational exchange
b. busing
c. de jure segregation
d. de facto segregation
e. redistricting