POLS   3327:   THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY

BOOTH

SPRING 2006

MID-TERM REVIEW SHEET

** note :   The mid-term exam is comprehensive and the objective is to assess your ability to discuss ideas, theories, and findings across the literature and beyond--that is, to synthesize the works we have read and discussed.   This review is by no means exhaustive and you should study/review all of the literature and class notes.

1. Overall, be able to identify, define, discuss, and compare each of the following elements from each of the 8 works we have read and discussed to this point in the semester:

            1. What is the Research Question or question s (i.e. the thesis) of the work/article/book?

            2.   What inconsistency, gap, or problem in the extant literature is this work addressing/answering?

            3. How does each work go about doing this (i.e. the model) ?

i. what are their hypotheses?      ii. what measures/variables do they use?   (dependent and independent variables)          iii. what are their data?

            4. What does the work find?

i. are they right?   why/why not?  

ii. what are the implications of their findings? (theoretically/normatively/empirically/for democratic theory , ect)

iii. how could you do it better; so, what are the problems that we could address with future research?

2. What is the goal of social science (specifically political science) research?   And what is the method by which this goal is realized? (so, explain the scientific method)

3. What are the main formal and informal powers (jobs) of the president in the U.S.?

            i. how do each of the works from class explore one or more of these informal/formal jobs of the president?

4. What is the 'inefficient secret'?   How might it be applied to bargaining over policymaking?   How might it be wrong, or at least, underspecified?

5. What is the definition of democracy and what are the main goals of democracy?

            i. how do each of the works' findings have implications for democracy for the U.S.?

ii. what are some reforms to our current electoral, legislative, executive, and party institutions that might help improve the 'democraticness' of the U.S.??

6. What is the election-seeking hypothesis or assumption ?   what are its implications for each of the works?

7. What are the main theoretical approaches to studying the president? (focus: Edwards, Kessel, & Rockman)

            i. how could you apply each of these to the works we have read?

            ii. What is the main obstacle to each of these approaches ability to model presidential behavior/outcomes?

(.:   the unit of analysis is often the president, so what is the 'N=1 problem'? & how do these works get around this problem??)

8. Fully explain and consider the president-centered approach .   How do each of the works account for this idea?

            i. How do we use & what are the limits of each of the following measures:

  1. Barber's Typology   2. Cronin & Genovese's Symbolic Leadership types   3. presidential power                 4. expert and public evaluations   5. prestige   6. reputation   7. leadership 8. accountability

9. Fully explain and consider the presidency-centered approach . How do each of the works account for this idea?

i. does the presidency-centered approach represent/model the bargaining setting completely? ( that is, does it measure the dynamic between institutions, actors, and parties; or, does it simply account for the considerations of the president given the Congressional political arena and constraints? and in which works?)

ii. What is institutional pluralism?  

iii. What is divided government?  

iv. What is institutionalization?   What causes it?   How is it measured?   When was the presidency institutionalized and why/how do we know?

v. What is the effect of the electoral cycle (midterm and presidential election year) and presidential tenure?

10. What is the decline-of-parties thesis/idea?

            i. How might it be an artifact of technological changes, institutional changes, and/or cultural changes?

            ii. Which works have theoretical findings that contribute to our understanding of the decline of parties?

       ( hint : especially focus on the contributions to this by Ragsdale and Theis 1997 & Milkis 1993)

11. What are Programmatic Liberalism and progressive reform?

            i. What were the presidential contributions to these reforms/programs?

ii. How did they each obtain these achievements? ( and at what future costs (or benefits) to the parties, the masses, the special interest groups, future presidents, and/or congress?)

iii. Define and give examples of party realignment, party dealignment, and party coalitions (ex. conservative coalition) .

iv. Overall, what is the state of progressive/liberal/new deal policies, laws, and protections today and why?

            aa. How has the meaning of 'individualism' in our culture changed overtime?

v. Compare/contrast the goals and outcomes/successes/failures of FDR/New Deal with LBJ/Great Society.

12. What are the Congressional reforms of the 1970's?   What is their effect on the current interaction between the executive and legislature on policymaking?

i.   How might have special interest groups have taken over the role of parties or received more benefits in the twilight of party decline?   How is this exacerbated by congressional reorganization?   How is this increased due to the current bargaining setting and executive veto powers?

13. What factors contribute (and how) to legislative conflict or gridlock?

            i. How do the works define/measure legislative conflict or gridlock?

ii. What is the bargaining setting that each uses (so what are the actors in the legislative bargaining...which actors do they fail to model, assume, or leave out?)?  

iii. What is the impact of the party on gridlock?   How does divided government matter?

iv. What is the importance of the legislation in considering outcomes of gridlock or legislative conflict?

v. What do the findings about legislation importance, proposal/veto rights, and institutional configurations say about democracy in the U.S.? (so, what about electoral efficiency, participation, and representation?? are they left out of the considerations/implications?)