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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. By how many points does Obama lose the Pennsylvania primary?

2. Which of the following authors does Obama note reading while in college?

3. Whom does Obama note moderated the Democratic debate at Drake University?

4. Which of the following appellations does Obama give to the Presidential Limousine?

5. Which of the following people does Obama employ as his campaign’s Iowa leader?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the primary rhetorical approach Obama uses to persuade Michelle to support his first attempt to win political office, and why is it the primary one?

2. Obama notes reprising the final section of Lincoln’s journey to Washington, DC, for his own inauguration—with one change. What is the change, and why was it made?

3. What trust does Obama cite as integral to the modern social contract?

4. How does Obama define “too big to fail” companies within the context of the 2008 financial crisis (181)?

5. What tactics does Obama note employing to try to attract voter attention to and interest in state politics?

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

7. To what events does Obama ascribe his perception as a U.S. Senator that he needed to do more in office, and faster?

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

9. What does Obama note doing in the first month after leaving office?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider Obama’s musing:

"If only the decision on Afghanistan was a matter of resolve, I thought—just will and steel and fire. That had been true for Lincoln as he tried to save the Union, and for FDR after Pearl Harbor, with America and the world facing a mortal threat from expansionist powers. In such circumstances, you harnessed all you had to mount a total war. But in the here and now, the threats we faced—deadly but stateless terrorist networks; otherwise feeble rogue nations out to get weapons of mass destruction—were real but not existential, and so resolve without foresight was worse than useless. It led us to fight the wrong wars and careen down rabbit holes. It made us administrators of inhospitable terrain and bred more enemies than we killed. Because of our unmatched power, America had choices about what and when and how to fight. To claim otherwise, to insist that our safety and our standing in the world required us to do all that we could for as long as we could in every single instance, was an abdication of moral responsibility, the certainty it offered a comforting lie (439)."

Given the history of the United States, how correct an assertion is that of the passage? What evidence suggests that it is / not? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 2

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 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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