Question 1: Which of the following has the highest average number of viewers as of 2008?

A. NBC Nightly News

B. The O'Reilly Factor

C. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

D. The News Hour with Jim Lehrer

Question 2: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC):

A. requires all networks to provide 20 hours per week of public access programming.

B. benefits some companies by restricting access to the airwaves by some competitors.

C. does not have authority to regulate TV and radio signals.

D. can censor the content of all speech on radio.

Question 3: Which of the following rapidly rose to become a significant conservative voice among the TV networks?

A. FOX

B. ABC

C. CNN

D. CBS

Question 4: The first news about the Monica Lewinsky scandal appeared:

A. on FM radio morning jockey shows.

B. on prime-time news.

C. on CNN.

D. through posts on the Internet.

Question 5: The growth of political action committees:

A. has made politics cleaner and fairer.

B. was an unanticipated consequence of campaign reform.

C. forced big-money contributors to donate illegally.

D. is a new phenomenon directly linked to the Republican control of Congress.

Question 6: The purpose of grassroots lobbying is:

A. to raise more funds than the opposition.

B. to get constituents to contact their own representatives.

C. to form a national coalition of different groups.

D. to prevent rash legislation from being passed.

Question 7: What was the White House reaction to Lesley Stahl's critical report on Reagan's use of television?

A. CBS News was excluded from White House press conferences.

B. Stahl was honored at a White House ceremony.

C. The reaction was very positive, because of the good pictures of Reagan included in the report.

D. The reaction was very negative, because of the critique of Reagan's speaking ability.

Question 8: Rupert Murdoch's media acquisitions and focus tend to reflect a consistent:

A. desire to promote conservatism in global politics.

B. desire to promote liberalism in U.S. politics.

C. interest in finding new ways to increase programming for children.

D. business interest in expansion through appeal to prevailing political trends.

Question 9: Which of the following statements about interest groups is correct?

A. Agricultural business interests have a very short history of influential lobbying activity.

B. Labor unions are important financial supports of the Republican Party.

C. Religious groups never try to influence public policy.

D. Interest groups, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), concentrate their efforts on economic and religious constituencies within the African American community.

Question 10: Which of the following is part of an issue network addressing education policy?

A. An education reporter for the New York Times

B. A lobbyist for the American Federation of Teachers

C. The White House Chief of Staff

D. The governor of California

Question 11: Which of the following statements about interest groups is accurate?

A. According to Alexis de Tocqueville, associations are harmful to democracy.

B. In general, political parties are more tightly organized than interest groups.

C. Interest groups are financed through government grants.

D. In general, interest groups are more tightly organized than are political parties.

Question 12: Which of the following is an example of a company trying to influence government to hurt its competition?

A. A toy manufacturer seeking help from the Consumer Product Safety Commission

B. Local chambers of commerce holding fund-raisers for congressional candidates

C. Microsoft lobbying the Dept. of Justice to investigate Google's Book Search service

D. IBM being sued under the Sherman Act for monopolistic practices in the 1970s

Question 13: A group of retired plant workers seeking to maintain company health benefits might turn to which of the following for help?

A. The AFL-CIO

B. The National Association of Manufacturers

C. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce

D. The American Medical Association

Question 14: The LEAST likely contributor to Democratic candidates would be:

A. the National Organization of Women.

B. the United Auto Workers.

C. the National Association of Manufacturers.

D. the Sierra Club.

Question 15: Bill Clinton's "alternative media" strategy:

A. involved calling New York Times reporters at home.

B. accelerated after the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke.

C. involved granting interviews to local news anchors and holding televised town meetings.

D. involved holding online press conferences.

Question 16: The "fourth branch of government" refers to:

A. state governments.

B. political parties.

C. the media.

D. interest groups.

Question 17: Who wrote that "Americans of all ages, all conditions, and all dispositions constantly form associations?"

A. Alexis de Tocqueville

B. Theodore Roosevelt

C. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

D. George H. W. Bush

Question 18: Which of the following statements about the media is accurate?

A. More people get campaign information from cable television than they do from nightly network news.

B. Television networks sell programs with advertising to affiliates.

C. Newspaper circulation has increased over the last decade.

D. Both A and B are correct.

Question 19: Which of the following interest groups is considered to have the most influence over Congress?

A. The American Bar Association

B. The Sierra Club

C. The National Education Association

D. The National Rifle Association

Question 20: Television advertisers tend to prefer programs that are:

A. intellectually thought-provoking.

B. conventional and inoffensive.

C. controversial and challenging.

D. overly concerned with factual information.

Question 21: The "emerging Democratic majority" as defined by Teixeira and Judis includes:

A. minorities.

B. young people.

C. those with college degrees.

D. A, B, and C are correct.

Question 22: Good campaign advice for candidates running for office now would include:

A. focusing only on raising hard-money donations from wealthy contributors.

B. depending on public funding for campaign support.

C. appealing to independent and younger voters.

D. ignoring the technical challenges of online campaigning.

Question 23: The ‘typical' Democratic voter:

A. supports limited government.

B. supports civil rights.

C. is a corporate CEO.

D. favors fundamentalist Christian social positions.

Question 24: The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (Motor Voter Act):

A. allows voters to register when they get their drivers' licenses.

B. had little impact upon voter turnout.

C. was struck down as unconstitutional.

D. Both A and B are correct.

Question 25: The voting rate among 18-24-year-olds in 2004:

A. increased by 5 percent.

B. increased from 36 percent to 47 percent.

C. increased from 47 percent to 60 percent.

D. decreased from 55 percent to 30 percent

Question 26: American political parties:

A. organize public opinion.

B. put together coalitions of different interests.

C. demand party loyalty on all issues.

D. Both A and B are correct.

Question 27: Richard Daley's political machine controlled __________ politics.

A. Chicago

B. New York

C. San Francisco

D. Boston

Question 28: Based on the outcome of the 2008 elections, one might expect which of the following to have been true?

A. Vigorous opposition by the Republican majority in the Senate will defeat many of President Obama's initiatives.

B. House Democrats will follow a moderate policy agenda.

C. Republicans will move to a more liberal position on health care reform and government spending to help the economy.

D. President Obama would pursue an ambitious agenda to help the economy, address health care reform, and pursue initiatives concerning green technology and education reform.

Question 29: __________ led the Democratic Party of 1828.

A. Alexander Hamilton

B. Abraham Lincoln

C. Thomas Jefferson

D. Andrew Jackson

Question 30: The GOP broke new ground with the selection of which of the following as the chair of the Republican National Committee?

A. Tim Kaine

B. Howard Dean

C. Michael Steele

D. Dick Cheney

Question 31: Which presidential candidate refused to accept public matching funds for his campaign?

A. Barack Obama

B. John McCain

C. Ronald Reagan

D. Bill Clinton

Question 32: A political party __________ political power.

A. polarizes

B. centralizes

C. decentralizes

D. balances

Question 33: A major factor contributing to nonvoting is:

A. high income.

B. partisanship.

C. reduction of barriers to voting.

D. political alienation.

Question 34: Declining public trust in government over the past 40 years is linked to:

A. the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

B. the end of the Cold War.

C. a rising sense of confidence in the ability of politicians.

D. a general decline in voting.

Question 35: Which of the following tactics helped Barack Obama gain public recognition at the beginning of the nomination process in 2008?

A. Developing grassroots support in caucus states ignored by other candidates

B. Focusing only on delegate-rich large states

C. Campaigning heavily among Democratic voters in the South

D. Relying on Hollywood celebrity endorsements to generate public support for his campaign

Question 36: The best predictor of how a person will vote is his or her:

A. education.

B. income.

C. occupation.

D. party identification.

Question 37: It is clear from analysis of the 2008 elections that:

A. the rapid increase of money in presidential campaigns has not abated.

B. campaign spending has leveled off due to the reforms of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.

C. Republicans did not hold a fund-raising advantage over Democrats.

D. PAC contributions dominated the financing of presidential campaigns.

Question 38: The "disappearing young voter" refers to:

A. the decline in young voters due to changes in birthrates.

B. low voting rates explained by a lack of connection due to mobility and little party identity.

C. the steady decline of voting among people under age 30, which continued through 2008.

D. the high voting rate of young people who do not graduate from high school.

Question 39: Class identification in the United States is:

A. constant.

B. weak.

C. strong.

D. important.

Question 40: Who was the founder of the Democratic-Republican Party?

A. George Washington

B. Thomas Jefferson

C. Alexander Hamilton

D. Andrew Jackson.