How many electors must a presidential candidate secure in the Electoral College to be elected president
270
What are examples of the legislative powers of the president
Main initiator of bills, plus the veto (Only Clinton had power of line item veto)
What majority is needed for Congress to check presidential power by overriding a presidential veto
03-Feb
Presidential line-item veto
Power granted to a chief executive to selectively veto certain parts of a bill without vetoing the entire bill
Current legal status for line item veto
Declared Unconstitutional by Clinton v New York City in 1998
Executive agreements are considered to be in force for how long
For the term of the administration that negotiates them
As chief diplomat, what functions does president perform
#NAME?
What are the foreign policy/foreign affairs powers vested in the president by the Constitution
-Makes the president head of Executive Branch
-Authority to appoint judges, ambassadors, and other high-ranking government officials
-Veto legislation
-Call Congress into special session
-Grant pardons
-Issue proclamations and orders
-Administer the law
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Which presidential roll is mostly ceremonial and symbolic
#NAME?
Balanced ticket
Choosing a vice presidential running mate based on a desire to provide diversity and maximize electoral appeal
Who is the head of Department of Justice
Attorney general
Who was the first black secretary of state
Colin Powell
National Security Council
A group of top foreign policy advisors and relevant cabinet officials that advise the president on foreign policy and national security issues
Official chair of the National Security Council
The President
Proper order of the next three officials after the president and vice president in the line of succession
#NAME?
Statutory Powers
Presidential powers granted by congress (ex: 1996 line item veto)
Informal powers
Presidential powers based on tradition, court rulings, etc. (ex: emergency powers)
Which presidential powers are codified in Article II of the Constitution
-Commander in chief
-Appoints dept. secretaries, ambassadors, and Supreme Court Justices
-Signs treaties (with 2/3 senate vote)
-Pardons
-Convene congress
-Veto
Take care clause
Creates inherent powers
Inherent powers
Thomas Jefferson's exercised this kind of presidential power when he made the decision to initiate the Louisiana Purchase in 1803
What presidential powers have been successfully challenged by the judiciary (Nixon era)
Executive privilege (imperial presidency)
Franklin D. Roosevelt
-Presidential scholars are MOST likely to rank which president as America's greatest
-Initiated the New Deal
Emergency powers
During the Civil War, President Lincoln suspended the civil liberties of alleged agitators and drafted state militias into national service. He did this using what set of powers that are used during times of national crisis
Rally 'round the flag
-President Bush's high approval ratings after his response to the September 11 attacks are an example of what type of effect
-Support for president in times of crisis no matter what political affiliation you are
House of Representatives
Formally accuses the president during impeachment
In 2013, what percentage of those polled said they would vote for a female presidential candidate?
95%
Shadow bureaucrats
Workers who do the work of government but don't get a government paycheck are known as
Before the establishment of the civil service system in 1883, what system of hiring was used to staff the federal bureaucracy
PATRONAGE - presidents hired whoever they pleased, establishing whatever qualifications they desired
Plum book
Book published every four years that lists the federal positions available through presidential patronage
What is the biggest downside to holding a patronage position in the federal bureaucracy
No job security
What are senior executive service (SES) positions in the federal bureaucracy
Managers
The assassination of which president by an unsuccessful seeker of a patronage position spurred passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Act in 1883?
President Garfield
The Pendleton Civil Service Act introduced a civil service system for the national government based on what selection/hiring principle or criteria
Competition, competence, and political neutrality
The civil service system created by the Pendleton Civil Service Act is guided by which hiring principle
Merit based
Jimmy Carter
Proposed civil serve reforms that led to passage of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978
Highest percentage of union members
Post office
What were the first two cabinet departments in the USA
#NAME?
Which cabinet department currently has the largest budget
Health and Human Resources
What is the main activity of an independent regulatory commission
-Regulate specific areas of the economy (not under direct control of a president/department)
-Develop standards of behavior for industry, monitor compliance, and issue punishments for violations
What was the first independent regulatory commission established by the federal government
Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
According to political scientists, how many stages are there in the public policy cycle
6
According to the politics-administration dichotomy, who implements public policy
Politically neutral bureaucrats
5th stage in the public policy cycle
Policy implementation
Mechanisms used by bureaucrats to determine if their rules have been broken and to impose penalties on violators
Administration Adjudication
Sunshine laws
Opened up government functions and documents to the public, ensuring transparency and public access to decision making
Administrative procedure act
One of the first laws designed to enhance federal bureaucratic accountability to the people
The Supreme Court predominantly acts as a court of
Appellate jurisdiction
Which early landmark case granted the Supreme Court its MOST significant power
Marbury V. Madison
What type of court system exists in the United States
Dual
What is common law based on?
Decisions of the courts that have been bound by the doctine of precedent into a body of authorative rules and principles
The principle of stare decisis, a Latin phrase that means "let the decision stand," is the basis of the modern legal concept of
Precedent
Statutes
Written laws made by legislatures
Who files suit in a case dealing with a violation of criminal law
The government
Torte
Negligence that causes harm to another person's body or property in a civil lawsuit
Mexico's judicial system
Transitioning to a system that is similar to the judicial system of this country
Criminal cases
#NAME?
Civil cases
-Private parties (usually individuals or corporations) dispute harm, money, property, custody; and the plaintiff must seek damages
-There is no guilt established, civil suits find who is responsible
According to the Constitution, which governing body is empowered to establish federal district courts
Congress
The term symbolic representation refers to what in the selection of federal judges
Supreme court includes representation from the major demographic groups
Which governing bodies/entities share power in the appointment and confirmation of federal court judges
The Senate confirms the President's nominations to the Judicial Branch of government
Senatorial courtesy gives senators of the same political party as the president the right to veto judicial appointments to which courts
Federal district courts
A request to the Supreme Court that they review a case that was already decided is done via a(n)
Certiorari Petitions
For the Supreme Court to hear a case, how many of the nine justices must want to hear it
4
Which phases of the Supreme Court's hearing and deliberations process offer the most
opportunities for civic engagement?
amicus curiae briefs, oral argument
Attitudinal model
View that judicial decision making is guided by the ideology of individual judges
Disenting decision
When a supreme court justice agrees with majority in a case, but disagrees in whole with majority opinion, this is what they write up
What best describes the ideological distribution of the Supreme Court today
Slight tilt toward the conservative side