Terms : Hide Images
| 335458905 | ad hoc structure | method of organizing a president's staff in which several task forces, committees, and informal groups deal directly with the president | |
| 335458906 | Article II | statement that defines the constitutional powers of the president | |
| 335458907 | cabinet | president's council of advisers | |
| 335458908 | circular structure | method of organizing a president's staff in which several presidential assistants report directly to the president | |
| 335458909 | delegate | view of presidential decision-making which stresses what the public wants | |
| 335458910 | direct democracy | political system in which all or most citizens participate directly by either holding office or making policy | |
| 335458911 | divided government | government in which one party controls the White House and another party controls one or both houses of Congress | |
| 335458912 | electoral college | legal system by which states select electors who then vote for the president and VP | |
| 335458913 | Executive Office of the President | agencies that perform staff services to the president but are not part of the White House | |
| 335458914 | Executive privilege | presidential assertion of the right to withhold certain information from Congress or Judiciary. Watergate! | |
| 335458915 | impeachment | constitutional procedure by which federal judges and civil officers can be removed from office before their terms expire | |
| 335458916 | impoundment of funds | presidential refusal to spend money appropriated by Congress | |
| 335458917 | in-and-outers | people who alternate between jobs in the federal government and employment in the private sector | |
| 335458918 | independent agencies | agencies headed by appointees who serve for fixed terms and can be removed only "for cause" | |
| 335458919 | lame duck | politician who is still in office after having lost a reelection bid | |
| 335458920 | legislative veto | rejection of a presidential or administrative action by a vote of one or both houses of Congress without the consent of the president | |
| 335458921 | line-item veto | power of some governors (and the president in a limited way between 1996 band 1998) to veto portions of a bill instead of having to veto the entire bill | |
| 335458922 | Office of Management and Budget | organization responsible for preparing the federal budget and for central clearance of legislative proposals from federal agencies | |
| 335458923 | perks | fringe benefits of holding an office | |
| 335458924 | pocket veto | form of veto in which the president fails to sign a bill passed by both houses within ten days and Congress has adjourned during that time | |
| 335458925 | prime minister | chief executive in a parliamentary system who is chosen by the legislature | |
| 335458926 | pyramid structure | method of organizing a president's staff in which most presidential assistants report through a hierarchy to the president's chief of staff | |
| 335458927 | representative democracy | political system in which leaders and representatives acquire political power by means of a competitive struggle for the people's vote | |
| 335458928 | trustee | view of presidential decision making which stresses what the public interest requires | |
| 335458929 | 25th Amendment | legislation that specifies the conditions and order of succession to the presidency and vice presidency when the president leaves office before completion of his term | |
| 335458930 | unified government | government in which the same party controls the White House and both houses of Congress | |
| 335458931 | veto message | statement sent to Congress by the president giving the reasons for vetoing a bill | |
| 335458932 | White House Office | presidential staff who oversee the policy interests of the president | |
| 335458933 | fourth estate | the press. books of quotations usually credit Edmund Burke with coinage thanks to a citation by historian Thomas Carlyle in Heroes and Hero-Worship, written in 1839: "Burke said that there were three estates in Parliament; but, in Reporter's Gallery yonder, there sat a __________ more important far than them all. | |
| 335458934 | pundit | political analyst, usually associated with a prestigious newspaper or broadcasting network; a harmless noodge | |
| 335458935 | pseudo event | contrived news; a happening that is made to take place for the purpose of the coverage it will get, or centered on people famous for being well known. The phrase is historian Daniel Boorstin's, coined in his 1962 book The Image; or What Happened to the American Dream? Boorstin, who later became Librarian of Congress, held that American life has become unreal, based on illusion and images, with heroes replaced by celebrities. | |
| 335458936 | media event | occasion so stage-managed for wide coverage that the coverage becomes more important than the occasion | |
| 335458937 | soundbite | snappy snippet of taped comment or news. often the phrase is used to derogate the superficiality of the quick takes- down to an average of eight seconds in the early 1990s- of TV and radio news | |
| 335458938 | hack | attack word on a long time politician; a political drudge. The word is derived from a horse in England that was let out for hire, usually mistreated, and became dull, broken-down, and exhausted | |
| 335458939 | credibility gap | chasm that sometimes exists between public office and the public's trust | |
| 335458940 | daisy spot | political advertising; anti-war commercial. To torpedo his Republican opponent Barry Goldwater, LBJ in his 1964 Presidential campaign used an ad aimed at underscoring the challenger as a warmongering extremist | |
| 335458941 | dope story | info leaked to a reporter and published as his own analysis; useful method of launching trial balloons or conditioning public opinion | |
| 335458942 | out of the loop | not informed; outside the circuit of news of info. | |
| 335458943 | in the loop | informed, among those consulted (tight circle) | |
| 335458944 | image | persona; the impression that is left by the merchandising of reputation. Post-WWII offspring of TV and big league advertising and public relations | |
| 335458945 | face time | brief face to face meeting with someone important; being noticed by a significant audience; impressing a superior or employer by being in his or her presence | |
| 335458946 | arm chair strategist | one who pontificates about world events; a sofa sophist. ARchitect Frank Lloyd Wright claimed in 1928 that "armchair education" was the reason Americans did not realize how discredited their culture was in the eyes of the world | |
| 335458947 | movers and shakers | opinion leaders; influentials, especially those who are political or economic activists | |
| 335458948 | coattails | political carrying power; the ability to attract and hold support, not only for oneself but for other members of a ticket | |
| 335458949 | all things to all men | deliberate ambivalence; two facedness. Phrase is used against a politician who makes conflicting promises in an effort to win an election or gain political advantage | |
| 335458950 | ankle biters | annoying or small minded bureaucrats; pettifogging aides. (munchkins and weenies) | |
| 335458951 | bean counter | accountant; keeper of financial records or stats; in recent usage, a derogation of one who seeks to hold politicians to perceived promises of racial or sexual quotas | |
| 335458952 | blooper | exploitable mistake; slip of the tongue, or unthinking comment, that can be seized upon by the opposition | |
| 335458953 | bigger bang for the buck | more efficient use of defense appropriations, replying largely on nuclear deterrents | |
| 335458954 | blue ribbon panel | jury or committee chosen on the basis of intelligence or special experience to investigate particularly complex or important matters | |
| 335458955 | boon doggle | project on which government funds are wasted through inefficiency or political favoritism; originally a make-work project, using government funds to stimulate the economy | |
| 335458956 | brain trust | group of advisers to a candidate or incumbent, prized more for their expertise in particular fields and intimacy with their patron than for their official position or rank | |
| 335458957 | briefing book | political game plan; notes to prepare a candidate or politician on wide-ranging subjects | |
| 335458958 | bully pulpit | active use of the presidency's prestige and high visibility to inspire or moralize. Teddy Roosevelt, a President of expansive character, took an unrestricted view of this job. In the many controversies during his two administrations, he never hesitated to take his case directly to the people from a Presidency he called _______ | |
| 335458959 | cattleshow | public gathering of Presidential candidates during a primary | |
| 335458960 | egghead | intellectual; highbrow. When used derogatively, an effete, bookish person with intellectual pretensions; when used affirmatively, a person with brains | |
| 335458961 | running mate | candidate running on the same ticket, for a lower office; most often used in connection with VP nominee | |
| 335458962 | red tape | bureaucratic sluggishness; unnecessary paperwork; administrative delay | |
| 335458963 | mandate | authority to carry out a program conferred on an elected official; especially strong after a landslide victory | |
| 335458964 | kitchen cabinet | informal advisers to the president who, while holding only minor offices themselves- or none at all- exert more influence on policy than the real cabinet because of their close personal relations with the Chief Executive | |
| 335458965 | empty chair | phrase dramatizing an opponent's refusal to debate | |
| 335458966 | trial balloon | testing of public reaction by suggestion of an idea through another person, causing no embarrassment to the author if the reaction is not good |
