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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 authors does Obama note reading while in high school?

2. How long does Obama note that Ed Thomas had worked at the White House?

3. How many days does Obama report spending in Iowa in 2007?

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

5. What is the name of the head of Obama’s Secret Service detail head while he is on campaign?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What advice does Obama note he would offer to his collegiate self, could he go back and give it?

3. What does Obama identify as “the one big tactical error of our campaign” (139)?

4. What complications in Black attitudes toward his candidacy does Obama note?

5. To what political choices does Obama ascribe worsening income inequality as he moves into the general campaign from the primary?

6. 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?

7. What two things does Obama note led to his ascendancy in the Iowa campaign?

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

9. What comment is reported that Billy Shaheen makes about Obama?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the memoir, Obama frequently compares himself to FDR. What function does the comparison serve in the memoir? How does it serve it?

Essay Topic 2

In the memoir, Obama frequently compares himself to Lincoln. What function does the comparison serve in the memoir? How does it serve it?

Essay Topic 3

Select one of the section titles: The Bet, Yes We Can, Renegade, The Good Fight, The World as It Is, In the Barrel, or On the High Wire. To what does the title make reference? How does it appear in the relevant section? What comment is suggested about it in that section? How is it suggested?

(see the answer keys)

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