Review Guide: Media, Congress, the Presidency and the Bureaucracy
Chapter 10 The Media and American Politics
Terms:
Gatekeeper
Scorekeeper
Watchdog
(don’t need to know the terms listed at the end of this chapter)
What is the mass media?
How have the media and its role in American society changed over the course of the last century?
How much power does the media have in contemporary American politics?
How has media ownership changed in the last several decades?
What are the most important consequences of recent changes in media ownership?
What is the relationship between the media and public political debate?
What role does the media play in shaping campaigns and elections?
How does the government regulate the media?
What limits are there on freedom of the press?
What is the relationship between the media and politicians?
How does the government regulate the media?
How does the government regulate the media?
What limits are there on freedom of the press?
What is the relationship between the media and politicians?
Chapter 11 Congress
All terms on p. 343
Rules Committee (House)
John Dingell
Henry Waxman
Nancy Pelosi
Harry Reid
“representational” voting
“organizational” voting
“attitudinal (ideological)” voting
pork barrel politics
Watergate scandal
Midterm election of 2006
How are Congressional elections different from other elections? House different from Senate?
How are congressional districts drawn?
Who controls the apportionment and redistricting process?
Who gets elected to Congress and why?
What was the full impact of the 2006 Congressional Elections?
What are the most important powers of Congress?
How is the legislative branch of the federal government organized?
Look at Table 11-2: Differences between the House and Senate. Be ready to identify the differences that are contained in the Constitution.
What are the major differences in rules between the House and the Senate? Why are there different rules?
What is the major difference in leadership between the two houses?
How do committees work? How do you get on a committee? How much power does each committee have?
What are the jobs of the federal legislator?
Who do legislators represent?
How do legislators make choices of one bill over another?
How do bills become laws? Figure 11-2 sums it up.
How are Congressional ethics and norms defined?
What are the possible consequences of violating Congressional rules?
Why is it often so difficult for Congress to act quickly and decisively?
What reforms are necessary to the legislative process?
Chapter 12 The Presidency
Terms p. 377, take out: cycle of decreasing influence, cycle of increasing effectiveness, rally point, take care clause.
War Powers Resolution
Presidential pardons, appointments
What are the formal and informal powers of the president? There is quite a list!
How can a President be removed from office? What changes did the 25th Amendment make to presidential succession?
What is the War Powers Resolution of 1973? Why was it passed? What have been the effects?
What are the most important controversies over the use and abuse of presidential power in the last 35 years?
How has the office of the president changed over the course of American history?
What are the most important recent trends affecting the power and role of the executive branch in American government?
How is the executive branch organized?
What is the role of the Vice-President? Any changes occurred recently?!
What roles does the president play in contemporary American government?
What part does the president play in the legislative process?
What role does Congress play in oversight of the executive branch?
What makes a great president?