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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. How many primary contests does Obama report winning in the weeks after Super Tuesday?

2. How many days into his term in office does Obama sign his first bill into law?

3. How many days pass between the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary?

4. How much does Obama report paying for the first home he and Michelle buy together?

5. In which of the following years does Obama note marrying Michelle?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Obama cite as his early problem in his campaign for president?

2. What is the overall tone of the first section in Chapter 10, describing the Oval Office, and how is it conveyed?

3. What rumors regarding his American identity does Obama note following Super Tuesday?

4. Why is Super Tuesday referred to by that name?

5. Why does Obama note unease at being “the new ‘in’ thing” (196)?

6. To what factor does Obama ascribe his good working relationship with Harry Reid early in his term as a U.S. Senator?

7. What shortcomings does Obama note in his collegiate self, based on his journaling?

8. What does Obama label as the “big sort” in politics?

9. What justifications does Obama provide for asking Robert Gates to stay on as Defense Secretary?

10. What does Obama identify as the “biggest mistake of the campaign” (143)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many sources attest to the presence of A Promised Land on the New York Times best-seller list. Assuming that sales figures reflect popularity, what accounts for the popularity of the memoir? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 2

In the preface, Obama makes the following parenthetical remark: “I still like writing things out in longhand, finding that a computer gives even my roughest drafts too smooth a gloss and lends half-baked thoughts the mask of tidiness” (xiii). Does experience support the position? How so or not?

Essay Topic 3

What is to be made of Obama’s frequent reports of consulting with the women in his life, particularly Michelle? What in the text suggests as much? How does it do so?

(see the answer keys)

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