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Chapter 13: The Presidency

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This activity contains 2 questions.

	The First Lady As the text notes, the First Lady has no official position in government. Yet, increasingly the First Lady seems to be involved in public policy. What about the current First Lady, Laura Bush? What are her public policy interests? Let's go to the official First Lady web site and review the information presented in order to get a sense of Laura Bush's policy interests. Search Tips Go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/firstlady/ and look for information related to policy issues. Questions to Ask What policy issues is Laura Bush interested in? Is there one big issue that she seems most focused on? Does the web site contain information that is not policy related? What kind of information? Why it Matters The First Lady is increasingly in the public's eye and increasingly involved in public policy. However, the First Lady has no official government position. Get Involved Ask your classmates whether they think the First Lady should have an official government position.   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Power from the People: The Public Presidency Presidents are more powerful when more Americans say that they are doing a good job. Presidents are less powerful when more Americans say they are doing a bad job. While most presidents claim that they do not pay attention to the polls, it is safe to say that someone in the administration is. Historically, presidents have started out with high approval ratings and then seen their approval drop over time. How does President Bush's approval compare to past presidents? Let's go the Pollingreport.com and see. Search Tips Go to http://www.pollingreport.com/POLPOL.htm and then click on "President Bush," and "Job Ratings." Look through the various public opinion survey results and compare President Bush's approval over time with that of past presidents as seen in Figure 13.3 Questions to Ask How does President Bush's approval compare to past presidents at this stage in their presidency? Why do you think President Bush has the approval ratings he has right now? Why it Matters While some criticize presidents for paying too much attention to the polls, it is important for presidents to know whether the public supports their actions or not. Get Involved Ask the class to answer the presidential approval question from the polls you have reviewed. How similar or dissimilar are the results?   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

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