Politically speaking, American women are
a. more likely than men to support capital punishment.
b. less likely than men to be concerned about the environment.
c. more likely than men to support social welfare programs.
d. more likely than men to support interventions abroad.
e. less likely than men to support extending civil rights to gay men and lesbians.
With regard to physician-assisted suicide, the Supreme Court has said that
a. the liberty interest does not include a right to commit suicide.
b. states have a right to protect the families of those who choose physician-assisted
suicide.
c. doctors must comply if a terminal patient asks for physician-assisted suicide.
d. the Constitution protects a person’s right to make all decisions regarding his or her
death.
e. it is permissible in all jurisdictions.
The heart of ________ theory is the proposition that in a democracy, the government
ought to do what the majority of the people want.
a. elite
b. majoritarian
c. pluralism
d. aristocracy
e. game
The granting of release from the punishment for a crime is called
a. a reprieve.
b. a congressional sanction.
c. a pardon.
d. executive privilege.
e. impeachment.
Which of the following is true regarding presidential election campaigns?
a. One can become president without winning the popular vote.
b. So far, all of the presidents have had a majority of the popular vote when elected.
c. A third candidate for the presidency has never had any impact on the outcome of the
election.
d. The House of Representatives is incapable of making a decision on who will be
president.
e. There have not yet been any occasions on which the Electoral College has failed to
give any candidate a majority.
In 2009, the Obama administration abolished
a. the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
b. the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act.
c. the alien “removal courts.”
d. the category of enemy combatant.
e. the Guantnamo prison, and released the prisoners.
“Umbrella groups” represent
a. collections of businesses or other entities.
b. umbrella manufacturers.
c. only small businesses.
d. only manufacturing businesses.
e. only international entities looking to do business with U.S. companies.
Which of the following is NOT a step in the policymaking process?
a. Policy implementation
b. Judicial review
c. Policy formulation
d. Agenda building
e. Policy evaluation
An institution can best be defined as
a. a religious organization.
b. an ongoing organization that performs certain functions for society.
c. any organized group.
d. a democratic government.
e. part of an interest group.
In his leadership of the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., advocated
a. nonviolent civil disobedience.
b. divide and conquer.
c. “equality for all, through strong force when necessary.”
d. economic equality through the undermining of capitalism.
e. equality “by any means necessary.”
An international agreement with the head of a foreign state made by the president
without Senate approval is
a. a treaty.
b. an executive agreement.
c. a signing statement.
d. constitutionally required to be funded by Congress.
e. subject to expiration after one year.
Which of the following statements about executive agreements is true?
a. They are unconstitutional.
b. They are only used when the World Court rejected a treaty.
c. They accounted for almost 95 percent of the understandings reached between the
United States and other nations.
d. The House and the Senate overwhelmingly ratifies them.
e. They are obsolete.
Which of the following statements concerning attitudes toward global warming is true?
a. A majority of Republicans believe that global warming does not exist.
b. A majority of Democrats believe that global warming is a myth.
c. Disblief of global warming among Democrats rose by 11 percentage points between
2001 and 2002.
d. Disblief of about global warming among Republicans fell by 11 percentage points
between 2001 and 2002.
e. Republican opinion about global warming has not changed in recent years.
Individual health insurance mandates and the ability of states to ban same-sex marriage
are two issues that
a. have been decided by the Supreme Court recently.
b. are currently being decided by the Supreme Court.
c. the Supreme Court has refused to consider.
d. can only be decided by the states.
e. have been criticized for being unfunded mandates.
The selection of electors is governed by
a. the Bill of Rights.
b. the Freedom of Information Act.
c. the National Electoral College Selection Act.
d. local laws.
e. state laws.
Which of the following is NOT one of the four major types of structures within the
executive branch?
a. Independent regulatory agencies
b. Cabinet departments
c. Privatized bureaucracies
d. Government corporations
e. Independent executive agencies
Which of the following statements about immigration rates in the United States is true?
a. Immigration rates are at their lowest since the 1950s.
b. Immigration rates are falling dramatically.
c. Immigration rates are stable since they peaked in the 1980s.
d. Immigration rates are among the highest they have been since their peak in the early
twentieth century.
e. Immigration rates are lower than ever before.
Determining which public policy questions will be debated or considered is a process
known as ______.
a. roll call
b. subconscious influence
c. lobbying
d. media dominance
e. agenda setting
Today, the members of the cabinet
a. are an informal group of presidential advisers.
b. are limited to the heads of the fifteen executive departments.
c. include fourteen department secretaries and the attorney general, plus other top
officials chosen by the president.
d. include only the heads of the Departments of State, Justice, Defense, and Treasury,
plus the heads of the EPA, CIA, and FBI.
e. are a subset of any six executive department heads, chosen by the president.
The National Security Council is a link between
a. Congress and the president.
b. leaders of foreign governments and the president.
c. the Securities and Exchange Commission and the president.
d. the president’s key foreign and military advisers and the president.
e. state governments and the president.
Which of the following best describes how a political party differs from an interest
group?
a. Political parties want to operate the government, but interest groups do not aim to do
so.
b. Political parties do not want to operate the government, but interest groups do.
c. Interest groups share common objectives and attempt to influence policymakers.
d. A political party tries to win elections, but interest groups do not.
e. Political parties and interest groups determine public policy.
The Defense of Marriage Act of 1996
a. bans federal recognition of lesbian and gay couples.
b. requires states to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
c. requires states to offer civil unions to same-sex couples.
d. bans states from performing same-sex marriages.
e. requires the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states
where they are legal.
What percent of federal employees have been fired for incompetence in recent years?
a. Fewer than 0.1%
b. 10%
c. 12%
d. 5%
e. More than 50%
Which of the following BEST describes public opinion?
a. When a number of people generally feel the same way about something
b. Polling data
c. How people feel about something
d. What people think
e. The aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion of the adult
population
The United States is among the few countries that does not tax their exports because
a. it does not need the money.
b. exportation is a natural right.
c. the South obtained a promise that export taxes would not be imposed.
d. the World Trade Organization prohibits it from doing so.
e. the president of the United States of America vetoed the bill.
Members of Congress are granted generous franking privileges that
a. permit them to mail letters to their constituents for free.
b. allow them to charge items to a special expense account.
c. allow members unlimited phone calls to their district without charge.
d. permit them to receive four, round-trip airfares to their district.
e. allow them to hold events such as barbeques in their districts at taxpayer expense.
Liberty can be defined as
a. freedom of individuals to do whatever they want.
b. freedom of individuals to own and control property.
c. the greatest freedom of the individual consistent with the freedom of other
individuals.
d. incompatible with government.
e. a uniquely American value.
The qualifications for state legislators are
a. set by the state constitutions.
b. set by the U.S. Constitution.
c. usually higher for those in the lower chamber of the legislature.
d. usually much more stringent than the legal qualifications for serving as governor.
e. usually just an age requirement.
The president of the Senate is
a. the leader of the majority party in the Senate.
b. the senator with the most seniority, regardless of party.
c. the fourth person in line to succeed the president.
d. the vice president of the United States.
e. always a member of the majority party in the Senate.
When a person has either knowledge of a defamatory statement’s falsity or a reckless
disregard for the truth, he or she is said to have
a. actual malice.
b. malignant intent.
c. creative license.
d. unauthorized information.
e. criminal intent.
The average term of service for political appointees is
a. less than one year.
b. less than two years.
c. more than two years but less than a president’s full term in office.
d. four years.
e. more than ten years.
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.
Gerrymandering is
a. legislation passed in southern states to limit African American participation in
elections.
b. the drawing of legislative district boundary lines to give the dominant party an
advantage.
c. known to give the minority party an electoral advantage at the expense of the
dominant party.
d. a process that attempts to limit debate on a bill in the Senate.
e. a method used by the president when he wants to prevent the passage of legislation.