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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following does Obama note performing in Michelle’s American music series?

2. Approximately how many people in Philadelphia does Obama note died to the Spanish flu?

3. The comment that Merkel “was now eyeing Sarkozy the way a mother eyes an unruly child” (343) offers an example of which of the following?

4. Which of the following does Obama note performing in Michelle’s American music series?

5. Which of the following serves as Secretary of the Interior?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Obama explain the increasing number of regulatory agencies and delegation of authority to them by Congress?

2. What recurring dream does Obama note having during his second year in office?

3. What does Obama describe as the “Michelle Effect” in the memoir?

4. What does Obama note wanting to say about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill when asked about it in May 2010?

5. What does Obama note are reasons he could expect some success in the midterm elections?

6. What reasons does Obama give for opposing repealing DADT via executive order?

7. To what does the term “dignified transfer” refer in the memoir?

8. What does Obama lament that Gates sees as “politics” that he sees as “democracy as it was supposed to work” (436-37)?

9. What reasons does Obama give for replacing McChrystal with Petraeus?

10. When presented with notes about gender discrimination within his White House, what steps does Obama take to address the matter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

As Obama writes, he makes repeated references to the Hawaiian coast. What function does the repeated reference serve? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 2

Obama writes that “to be effective, governance couldn’t be so antiseptic that it set aside the basic stuff of politics. You had to sell your program, reward supporters, punch back against opponents, and amplify the facts that helped your cause while fudging the details that didn’t” (525). Does this appear to hold true, based on the memoir and on experience? What details affirm the position? How do they do so?

Essay Topic 3

Obama remarks several times through the memoir about playing cards, particularly Spades. What functions do the remarks serve, and how do the remarks serve those functions?

(see the answer keys)

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