PS 310W
Midterm Exam
Fall 2006
Short Answer. 10 points each.
- What was the controversy surrounding the Neutrality Proclamation? What does it tell us about the Framers’ views of executive power?
In April, 1793, when Congress was out of session, Washington unilaterally proclaimed America neutral in the war between Britain and France. He was worried that private citizens who supported France were trying to force the US to get involved in the war. Those who sided with France argued vociferously that the president can’t declare neutrality because that would be like declaring peace—which is something only Congress can do.
Madison was one of those who criticized him. He argues that declaring war and making treaties are fundamentally lawmaking acts, and therefore are properly conducted by the Congress, not by the executive, whose sole job is to execute the laws.
Hamilton, Washington’s Treasury Secretary, defended the action, arguing that the vesting clause was vague and broad precisely to allow presidents the leeway to do things like this. In the end, juries refused to prosecute individuals who were trying to involve the US in the war just based on Washington’s proclamation, so Washington requested that Congress pass a Neutrality Act, which it did in 1794.
It tells us that the framers themselves were of several minds about executive power, that they did not have a consensus about the vesting clause, and that even presidents with no ambition for expanding executive power have done so. The public’s reaction also tells us that the consensus at the founding was that presidents could NOT broadly interpret the vesting clause.
- What role did the national party conventions play during the mixed system?
They were where the actual decision was made, by delegates sent from state parties for that purpose. The proceedings there were influenced, but not predetermined, by primary contests.
- List the stages of the Funnel of Causality. What does it tell us about how voters make up their minds?
Socio economic characteristics
Long term partisan and ideological predispositions
Current policy preferences and perceptions of current conditions
Retrospective evaluations of current president
Impressions of candidates’ personal qualities
Prospective evaluations of promises and candidates’ and parties ability
The funnel tells us that many voters’ decisions are heavily influenced by long term factors not directly associated with a campaign.
- Briefly describe the four types of campaign advertisements. Which is most effective and why?
Positive—feel good images, with no substantive content
Substantive—issue positions
Attack—negative against opponent
Contrast—comparing issue positions and records of the two candidates
Contrast and negative most effective. Most memorable, most persuasive. Can drive down your opponent’s positive ratings.
- Briefly describe five factors that disadvantage third parties in America.
Single member plurality districts
Electoral College
Ballot access restrictions
Campaign finance laws
Candidate behavior
Voter party loyalty
Media attention
- What four factors influence a president’s job approval rating?
Partisanship and voter loyalty influences people’s perceptions of the president
The economy—How people perceive the economy generally affects their judgment of the job the current president is doing, and their willingness to reelect him or his party
News about outcomes—Play into people’s perceptions of current conditions
Rally effects—International events can cause people to rally around the president as the one representative of the whole people of the United States
Essay. 40 points.
Let’s say your uncle is a U.S. Senator. Like all U.S. Senators, he’d like to be president. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know very much about electoral politics. Help him out! Give him three important pieces of advice about what he needs to do in order to win his party’s nomination and the general election.
Three pieces of advice that show a significant understanding of the challenges of the electoral process.
Perhaps: Invisible primary requirements (money/endorsements), electoral college focus on purple states, median vs. swing voters, importance of wooing the media, hiring competent campaign professionals, developing an advertising strategy that focuses on contrast/negative ads, etc.