AP Government
EXAM: Presidency
1. When selecting a vice-presidential
candidate, a presidential nominee is
usually concerned primarily with
choosing a running mate who
a) has significant personal wealth
b) adds balance and appeal to the
national ticket
c) comes from the same ideological
wing of the party as the president
d) can serve as the most important
domestic policy adviser to the
president
e) can effectively preside over the
Senate
2. The Department of Homeland Security
became a cabinet position in the wake of
9/11 mainly to
a) hunt down and eradicate potential
terrorist threats, such as Al-Qaeda
b) coordinate cooperation and
communication between various
federal intelligence agencies
c) enforce the Patriot Act and
promote patriotism
d) train airport personnel to ensure
greater airline security
e) investigate why the 9/11 attacks
had been able to occur on
American soil
3. Congressional standing committees are
best described as
a) specially appointed investigative
bodies
b) joint committees of the two
houses of Congress
c) committees created for each
session
d) permanent subject-matter
committees
e) advisory staff agencies
Mr. Messinger
4. To say that the American people tend to
be “ideologically conservative but
operationally liberal” means that
a) Americans favor conservative
moral values but also favor the
latest in management techniques
to supervise government
bureaucracy
b) Americans are both conservative
and liberal
c) Americans are likely to support
limited government in theory but
support social programs in
practice
d) Americans are likely to talk about
the need for social welfare
programs but to vote for
legislators who will restrain
government spending
e) ideology has little impact on
American politics
5. Which of the following procedures
results in the removal of the President
from office?
a) The House and Senate vote for
impeachment and the Supreme
Court reaches a guilty verdict.
b) The House votes for
impeachment, and the Senate
conducts a trial and reaches a
guilty verdict.
c) The House and the Senate both
vote for a bill of impeachment.
d) Only the House votes for a bill of
impeachment.
e) A criminal court finds the
President guilty of “high crimes
and misdemeanors.”
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE
6. Which of the following statements about
Congress is true?
a) Members of Congress only
occasionally are interested in and
pay attention to constituents.
b) The legislative process is
frequently lengthy, decentralized,
and characterized by compromise
and bargaining.
c) Lobbyists and political action
committees (PACs) successfully
induce most members of
Congress to trade their votes for
campaign contributions.
d) The growth in the size of
Congress as an organization is the
principal cause of growth in the
federal budget deficit.
e) Debate in both houses is
structured by elaborate rules
enacted by leaders of the majority
party.
7. Which of the following is articulated in
the War Powers Resolution?
a) The President may declare war.
b) The President must finance any
war efforts from a special
contingency fund.
c) The President must bring troops
home from hostilities within 60 to
90 days unless Congress extends
the time.
d) The President may not nationalize
state militias without
congressional consent.
e) The President may not send
troops into hostilities without a
declaration of war from Congress
or a resolution from the United
Nations.
8. The request of recent Presidents for the
line-item veto is a challenge to which of
the following principles?
a) Separation of powers
b) Senatorial courtesy
c) Eminent domain
d) Executive privilege
e) Congressional oversight
9. The chief initiator of foreign policy is the
a) Senate Foreign Relations
Committee
b) Secretary of State
c) Joint Chiefs of Staff
d) President
e) President in concert with the
Secretary of State and the
National Security Advisor
10. All of the following have contributed to
an increase in presidential power in the
post-1945 era EXCEPT
a) tensions between the United
States and Soviet Union during
the Cold War period
b) an increase in public expectations
for services from the federal
government
c) economic and domestic problems
such as inflation, unemployment,
and civil rights issues
d) increasing United States
involvement in international
affairs
e) legislation granting the President
the power to impound funds
appropriated by Congress
11. Cabinet members often do not have a
dominant influence on presidential
decision-making because
a) cabinet members generally
maintain close independent ties to
Congress
b) cabinet members generally view
their position only as a steppingstone to further their own political
ambitions
c) cabinet members are not
permitted to disagree publicly
with the President
d) presidential goals often conflict
with the institutional goals of
individual cabinet-level agencies
e) only half of all cabinet members
can be members of the President’s
party
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE
12. In which of the following scenarios
would a presidential veto most likely be
upheld?
a) The President has the support of
the Supreme Court.
b) The President is in a second term,
removed from partisan politics.
c) The proposed legislation enjoys
widespread bipartisan support.
d) The proposed legislation was
originally adopted by a large
majority in both houses of
Congress.
e) Two-thirds of the representatives
and senators are members of the
same party as the President.
13. Which of the following committees of
the House of Representatives sets the
conditions for debate and amendment of
most legislation?
a) Ways and Means
b) Appropriations
c) Judiciary
d) Rules
e) Government Operations
14. Which of the following governmental
agencies is not a cabinet-level
department?
a) Homeland Security
b) Housing and Urban Development
c) U.S. Postal Service
d) Defense
e) Education
15. Which of the following is NOT a
presidential role authorized by the
Constitution?
a) To be commander in chief of the
armed forces
b) To lead the political party of the
President
c) To negotiate treaties with foreign
nations
d) To be chief executive
e) To present the State of the Union
address
16. Which of the following is true under the
systems of checks and balances?
a) The Supreme Court can overrule
the President’s policy proposals.
b) The Senate must ratify treaties
negotiated by the President before
they become law.
c) A bill becomes law when the
House and the Senate pass it, and
the Supreme Court declares it
constitutional.
d) The Supreme Court can remove
members of the Congress, and
Congress can impeach the
President.
e) The House of Representatives
appoints justices to the Supreme
Court and the Senate approves the
appointments.
17. The President can do which of the
following without seeking the consent
of either the House or Senate?
a) Ratify a treaty
b) Appoint ambassadors
c) Appoint district court judges
d) deploy troops
e) declare war
18. Senate confirmation is required for
which of the following presidential
appointments?
I. Secretary of State
II. White House chief of
staff
III. Director of the FBI
IV. Attorney General
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
I only
II and III only
II and IV only
I, III, and IV only
I, II, III, and IV
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE
19. Since the 1970s, Presidents have made
use of executive orders at an increasing
rate because executive orders
a) are noncontroversial measures
that can be easily implemented
b) are rarely defeated in Congress
c) do not need to passed by
Congress
d) avoid judicial review
e) must be ratified by the Senate
rather than by the House
20. The concept of “critical elections” is
most closely associated with
a) the electoral college process
b) elections during wartime
c) the nomination process
d) economic recession
e) party realignment
Questions 21-22 are based on the table below.
Electoral Support for Democratic Candidates, 1988-1990
(Percentage of Vote for Democratic Candidates)
Strong Democrats
Weak Democrats
Independent-leaning Democrats
Pure Independents
Independent-leaning Republicans
Weak Republicans
Strong Republicans
PRESIDENT (1988)
93
67
88
32
14
16
2
U.S. HOUSE (1990)
90
79
79
61
32
39
17
Source: The National Election Studies, Center for Political Studies, University of Michigan
21. The table supports which of the
following statements about party
identification about party identification
and voting behavior?
a) There is no consistent relationship
between party identification and
voting behavior.
b) People with weak party
identification tend to vote for
opposing political candidates.
c) Independent-leaning Democrats
are unreliable voters for the
Democratic party.
d) People who most resist party
identification tend to vote for
Republican candidates.
e) People with strong Democratic
party identification tend to vote
for the Democratic party.
22. The table best supports which of the
following statements about the two
elections for which data are provided?
a) The 1988 and 1990 elections
were clear victories for the
democratic party.
b) Republican voters exhibited
greater party discipline in 1990
than they did in 1988.
c) Independent-leaning Republicans
were the Republicans least likely
to cross party lines.
d) Pure Independents were less
likely to vote for the Democratic
presidential candidate in 1988
than for Democratic House
candidates in 1990.
e) Weak Democrats were the group
most likely to vote for
Republican candidates.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE
23. House of Representatives are found in
Article I of the Constitution. They
include all of the following, EXCEPT
a) must be 25 years of age
b) must be an American citizens for
seven years
c) must be a resident from the state
represented
d) can be a naturalized citizens
e) cannot serve for more than two
consecutive terms
24. Most of the power in Congress is found
in the
a) committees
b) specialized caucuses
c) state delegations
d) party leaders
e) caucuses
25. Among the many powers of the House
Speaker is that he or she
a) appoints members of special and
select committees
b) takes the minutes
c) keeps party leaders informed
about the opinions of their party
members
d) schedules legislation
e) presides over the Senate
26. A bill that has many nongermane
amendments tacked on is called a
a) Christmas-tree bill
b) pork-barrel bill
c) Dirkson Special bill
d) Full-House rider
e) golden shovel bill
HOW PEOPLE IDENTIFY THEMSELVES POLITICALLY, 1952-1994
DEMOCRAT
REPUBLICAN
INDEPENDENT
APOLITICAL
1952
47%
27%
22%
4%
1960
46%
30%
23%
4%
1968
45%
24%
30%
1%
1976
40%
23%
36%
1%
1984
40%
29%
29%
2%
1994
33%
34%
31%
2%
Source: The National Election Center for Political Studies, University of Michigan
27. The table above supports which of
the following conclusions?
I. A plurality of the people
has consistently supported
the Democrats.
II. Support for the two
major parties increased
slightly between 1952
and 1994.
III. The largest percentage
increase in political
identification between
1952 and 1994 occurred
among independents.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
I only
II only
III only
I and II only
I, II, and III
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE
28. Responsibility for reconciling the House
and Senate versions of a bill falls to a
a) conference committee
b) standing committee
c) select committee
d) oversight committee
e) joint committee
29. Which of the following factors is the
most important for predicting the
outcome of congressional elections?
a) The amount of money spent by
the candidate
b) The size of the voter turnout
c) The success of the parties’
presidential candidate within the
particular congressional district
d) Whether or not the candidate is
an incumbent
e) Whether or not there are some hot
button issues during the campaign
30. Cloture is invoked in the Senate to
a) impeach a federal judge
b) censure a senator for wrongdoing
c) remove a federal judge who has
been impeached
d) end debate or a filibuster of a bill
by a three-fifths vote of the
Senate
e) return a bill to committee
31. The term “horse-race journalism” refers
to the tendency of the media to
a) cover Congress by focusing on
committee chairs rather than on
the work of the committees
b) cover campaigns by emphasizing
the relative standings of the
candidates in the polls rather than
the issues they discuss
c) cover politics by concentrating on
scandal and corruption
d) compete for access to sources
rather than to cooperate in
gathering news
e) compete to be first with major
breaking stories rather than trying
of to present full, accurate
accounts such stories
32. The role of a conference committee in
Congress is to
a) hold hearings on proposed
legislation
b) oversee the actions of the
executive branch of the
government
c) decide which bill should be
considered by the Senate
d) conduct hearings that make
information available to the
public
e) reconcile differences in bill
passed by the House and Senate
33. Which of the following statements is
NOT true about the United States
Senate?
a) There is no rules committee to
limit debate in the Senate.
b) The vice president presides over
the Senate and only votes in the
event of a tie.
c) Until the 17th Amendment,
senators were elected by state
legislatures.
d) The membership of the Senate
has always been made up of more
common individuals rather than
the rich elite.
e) It shares the ability to declare war
with the House.
34. The term critical election can best be
described as a
a) term used for elections where
serious economic differences
exist between the candidates.
b) term used to describe elections
when the nation is in a state of
war.
c) term used for elections where
party realignment takes place.
d) term for an election where
Supreme Court vacancies are
anticipated.
e) term for any election where one
party has won the previous three
elections and this election is
critical to the minority party.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE
35. Candidates for president have been
LEAST likely to come from which of
the following sources?
a) the vice presidency
b) state governorships
c) the cabinet
d) the House of Representatives
e) the Senate
36. Which of the following was viewed by
the framers of the Constitution as the
center of policy making in the U.S.?
a) President’s cabinet
b) Secretary of State
c) President
d) Congress
e) Supreme Court
COMPETITION IN CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS, 1958-1986
MEMBERS
REELECTED
YEAR
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1958-1986
mean
percentage
AVERAGE VOTE
WON BY MEMBER
HOUSE
90%
93%
92%
87%
88%
97%
95%
94%
88%
96%
94%
91%
90%
95%
98%
SENATE
64%
97%
83%
85%
88%
71%
77%
74%
85%
64%
60%
55%
93%
90%
75%
HOUSE
61.2%
60.6%
62.1%
61.7%
62.7%
64.2%
65.4%
65.6%
64.0%
65.8%
65.8%
66.1%
65.0%
65.6%
69.5%
SENATE
57.5%
54.5%
54.8%
60.3%
52.6%
52.9%
56.3%
60.5%
52.5%
50.8%
52.5%
50.1%
58.6%
61.9%
59.1%
93%
77%
64.4%
55.7%
MEMBERS
REELECTED BY 60%
OR MORE
HOUSE
SENATE
63.1%
71.3%
58.9%
71.8%
63.6%
40.0%
58.5%
63.0%
67.7%
59.3%
72.2%
58.9%
77.3%
45.8%
77.8%
55.0%
66.4%
47.8%
71.9%
68.7%
78.0%
53.3%
72.9%
56.2%
68.9%
50.0%
75.1%
73.0%
81.2%
71.4%
70.2%
59.4%
37. The data displayed in the table above best
support which of the following statements?
a) The reelection rate is higher in the
Senate than in the House.
b) The average vote won by Senate
surpasses that won by House
members.
c) House seats are safer from election
turnover than are Senate seats.
d) House members serve more terms
than do Senators.
e) More members of the Senate win
reelection by 60% or more of the
vote than do members of the House.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE
38. Which of the following are cabinet
departments of the president?
I. Veterans’ Affairs
II. Agriculture
III. White House Counsel
IV. Transportation
a) I and IV only
b) I, II, and III
c) I, II, and IV
d) II, III, and IV
e) III and IV only
39. The cabinet officers consist of the heads
of
a) the major executive departments
b) the major governmental agencies
c) the major governmental
commissions
d) independent agencies
e) minor governmental agencies
40. The president of the United States
possesses the power to negotiate treaties
with other nations but the treaty is not
considered final until which of the
following additional steps are taken?
a) Congress votes to accept it by
simply majority.
b) Congress votes to accept it by a
super-majority.
c) The House of Representatives
votes to accept it by a two-thirds
majority.
d) The Senate votes to accept it by a
two-thirds majority.
e) Congress votes to accept it by a
simple majority and the Supreme
Court declares it Constitutional.
Questions 41 and 42 are based on table below.
NEWS MEDIA VIEWED MORE FAVORABLY
THAN POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
FAVORABLE OPINION OF:
Daily Newspaper
Local TV News
Cable TV News*
Network TV News
Major National Papers
Supreme Court
Democratic Party
Congress
George W. Bush**
Republican Party
2001
82%
83%
88%
76%
74%
78%
63%
65%
64%
54%
2005
80%
79%
79%
75%
61%
66%
57%
54%
55%
52%
CHANGE
-2%
-4%
-9%
-1%
-13%
-12%
-6%
-11%
-9%
-2%
SOURCE: Pew Research, Center for People and Press
*In 2001, the cable news question listed only CNN and MSNBC. In 2005, Fox News Channel was added to the question.
**Bush 2005 figure from March. Percentages based on those who could rate each.
41. Which type of media was viewed most
favorably in 2001?
a) Major national newspapers
b) Daily newspapers
c) Cable TV news
d) Local TV news
e) Network TV news
42. Which of the following political
institutions experienced the largest
decline in the public’s favorable opinion
from 2001 to 2005?
a) Congress
b) Republican Party
c) Democratic Party
d) George W. Bush
e) Supreme Court
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE
43. Which of the following statements is
NOT true concerning the White House
staff?
a) The press secretary is a member
of the White House staff.
b) The national security advisor is a
member of the White House staff.
c) The president relies on the White
House staff for information,
policy options, and analysis.
d) The White House staff size and
responsibilities grew enormously
in the latter half of the 1900s.
e) Appointments to the White House
staff are confirmed by the Senate.
44. The War Powers Resolution, which
requires the president to consult with
Congress whenever possible prior to
using military forces, was passed as a
reaction to what historic actions?
a) The sinking of the Lusitania
b) The bombing of Pearl Harbor
c) American fighting in Vietnam
and Cambodia
d) The Korean War
e) Operation Desert Storm
45. Which of the following statements
concerning the position of the vice
president is NOT true?
a) In case of presidential disability,
he assumes the position of
president.
b) He presides over the Senate
c) Since 1980, the role and activities
of the vice president have been
increased informally by
presidents.
d) His Constitutional duties include
serving as chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff.
e) He only votes in the Senate to
break tie votes.
46. The party member in Congress most
responsible for making certain that party
members are present for a vote and that
they vote the way the party wishes is the
a) President pro tempore
b) Chairman of the Caucus
c) Minority Leader
d) Party Whip
e) Speaker of the House
47. If by December 30th the president does
not sign a bill that was sent to him by
Congress on December 24th, he has
probably
a) used his pocket veto.
b) vetoed it.
c) let it become law without his
signature
d) tabled it.
e) amended it.
48. Who is the head of the Justice
Department?
a) Chief of Staff Rahm Emamual
b) DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano
c) OTISMP Chief Tom Daschle
d) Attorney General Eric Holder
e) LOLJK Master Alberto Gonzalez
49. Which of the following people is a
member of Obama’s current Cabinet?
a) Janet Napolitano
b) Arne Duncan
c) John Boehner
d) Hillary Clinton
e) Joe Biden
50. Who is most qualified to be Secretary of
Education?
a) Patrick Frino
b) Arne Duncan
c) Alessandro Vanni
d) Brian Messinger
e) You
STOP
END OF EXAM