Checks & Balances
The Supreme Court's decision to uphold FDA regulations on abortion drug mifepristone is an example of this principle
Judicial deference
The Electoral College is better than the Senate, but worse than the House, based on this metric of representation
Malapportionment
Despite this presidential candidate's urging, voters in key swing states did not "Pokemon Go to the polls" to elect them
Hillary Clinton
"We tortured some folks"
Barack Obama
Big Bird featured prominently in an attack ad against this candidate
Mitt Romney
The last war declared by Congress
World War II
Winning primary candidates usually dominate on Super Tuesday. This candidate is the only exception from 1992-2020
Barack Obama (2008)
The War Powers Act, which sought to limit executive power in foreign policy, was passed despite this president's veto
Richard Nixon
"I'm the decider, and I decide what is best"
George W. Bush
The most common electoral system used for electing a president worldwide, as in France and Chile
Two-round system
In the pivotal politics model, this is the zone where proposals to defeat the status quo policy will succeed
The win set
This state received the most total campaign spending in both 2016 and 2020 (but not 2024)
Florida
This president's undermining of Reconstruction and near-impeachment often land him near the bottom of presidential rankings
Andrew Johnson
"John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!"
Andrew Jackson
By far the largest increase of federal government employees happened under this president
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
This important type of checks and balances stems from Article I of the Constituon: "No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law"
The power of the purse
This election was the last time a Republican presidential candidate won California
George H.W. Bush, 1988
This president was the last incumbent to lose reelection as a "clarifying" candidate
Gerald Ford (1976)
"A few months ago I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages. My heart and my best intentions tell me that's true, but the facts and evidence tell me it is not."
Ronald Reagan
This commission is credited with beginning the modern primary election system
The McGovern-Fraser Commission
This member of Congress (and mayor-elect of Oakland, CA) was the sole vote against the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), which has since been cited to justify military action against 14 countries
Barbara Lee
The only state won by third party Progressive candidate "fighting" Robert La Follette in 1924
Wisconsin
Pfiffner identifies George W. Bush's decision to effectively make this person the "viceroy" of Iraq as emblematic of dysfunctional decision making in the Bush White House.
Paul Bremer
"Yet the Gross National Product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials."
Joe Biden or Robert F. Kennedy
This socialist presidential candidate was imprisoned by the Woodrow Wilson administration for his criticism of World War I
Eugene V. Debs