Final exam questions

[War Wagon]

Ok you worthless fucks, make yourselfs useful.

My daughter is taking her 1st semester college final exam in her "Presidential Studies" course. This is an advanced class chock full of juniors and seniors, while she's the only freshman. She's sent me two of the four questions posed along with her responses for proof reading.

I'll admit this might be over my head. I'm a no account forklift driver, for Christs sake. I'm deferring to the folks who are smarter than me. Be gentle.

Here are the questions:

Question One: Discuss the concept of Executive Privilege and the different views regarding the constitutional basis for the privilege. Why is this concept important to the doctrine of Separation of Powers?

Question Two, Part A: What are the limitations on the President's domestic policy making ability? Can a president abuse his power in the area of domestic policy?

How do you respond to these questions?

[Mikey]

Can a president abuse his power in the area of domestic policy?

Warrantless domestic wiretapping and getting hummers from an intern in the Oval Office are two examples that come to mind.

[War Wagon]

Warrantless domestic wiretapping and getting hummers from an intern in the Oval Office are two examples that come to mind.

Hummers don't qualify as "policy" Mikey.

But the first point you made might have some merit with the profs. Then again, this is Evangel University in Springfield MO. As right wing and conservative as it gets.

Bible Belt City. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[War Wagon]

ok, here are her answers. They might be quite full of factual holes, so fire away in critique. I will just say that she writes quite well and I'm quite proud of her for even taking this on.

Seriously, find the fallacies in these statements and suggest corrective action, please. I'm not paying 20k a year for her to finish any less than at the top of her class.

Question One

America’s Founding Fathers created a system of representative government. Their goal was to keep a balance of powers between the different branches of government. This allowed each branch the ability to “check” the other branches to keep the power spread equally among them.
Executive privilege is the power held by the President of the United States and other members of the Executive Branch to allow them to resist certain encroachments, or keep information confidential. Thomas Jefferson was the first president to use executive privilege.
Even though executive privilege is not directly mentioned in the Constitution, it is clearly a legitimate presidential power. In writing the Constitution, the Framers sought out the most effective way to run government. John Locke wrote a book called Second Treatise of Government, which had a great effect on the Framer’s work. He addressed the idea that most power should be vested in the Executive Branch, and he proposed giving the executive “the power of doing public good without a rule.” Locke thought that the executive should always have the power to act in emergency situations.
In the unfortunate case of Bill Clinton and the sex scandal, he claimed executive privilege on the basis of the original intentions of the Framers. He claimed that secrecy was absolutely a necessity in conducting the business of the presidency. Since the very early years of this country, it has been widely recognized that presidents should have the right to secrecy so that they can conduct the business of the nation. In this instance, it was a clear misuse of the executive privilege power.
The doctrine of separation of powers was designed to keep the government balanced and let no one branch of government have superiority over another. The concept of executive privilege is important to the doctrine of separation of powers because it puts a strain on the balance of power in the government. With executive privilege, the president has the right to withhold certain information from other branches of government. Neither the Judicial nor the Legislative Branch can do this.
Over the years, presidents have used executive privilege for different purposes. Some were legitimate, like in the case of withholding information for the protection of the nation. Other uses of the power can even be considered criminal. In the cases of Nixon, Clinton, and at times even George W. Bush have abused the power and used it to cover up criminal actions.


Question Two
A)
America is continuing to put more and more emphasis on the economy, and the more emphasis put on by the people, the less effective the president can really be. Domestically, voters tend to want things that conflict with each other. For instance, they enjoy low interest rates, but they also like low inflation. These conflict because if one is going to be low, the other usually must be higher.
Voters also expect the president to be able to control the economy by a simple finger point, but truthfully, his power is very limited. Even though this fact is known, the high hopes are still there. Opinion polls have shown that the economy is the number one problem facing the country today in the eyes of voters. Right now, our economy is the best it has been since Reagan, but the complaints about the economy are still brewing.
Since the United States is one of the most dominant powers in the world, it makes it even more difficult for a president to have much control over economic performance. After World War II, the United States finally took the leap out of isolationism and ran to the forefront of global economics.
In light of all of the information above, I think it would be difficult for a president to abuse his power in the realm of domestic policy. Although, there are few ways, in domestic policy, that president could stretch his power. Since the Roosevelt Administration, presidents have believed that they could use the Federal Budget to direct the economy’s performance. Raising taxes, in the case of Bill Clinton, can squelch the freedom of the people to spend their own money, and puts more money in the government. This could be an example of taking too much power in domestic policy.
The Great Depression threw the country into great turmoil, and Roosevelt has come to be known as its savior. He established the New Deal, which brought forth many new programs to help create jobs, provide emergency funds, and social security. This was desperately needed at the time, but Roosevelt did overstep his Constitutional powers. It accomplished what the country needed at the time, but turned our country into more of a socialist one.

Ok, I can see a lot wrong with that. But is it good enough to bullshit a decent grade from a teacher at this school? It might, so I don't want to fix what ain't broke.

Input, losers. Input!

[Screw_Michigan]

you let IB write for your daughter? scroll wheel...check!

just kidding.

[War Wagon]

She's only 19, give a break.

So how do you answer those questions?

[Ang]

WW,

I would love to take the time to look at your daughter's questions and figure out an answer...but I gave 5 finals in the first three days of this week, and during that have been helping my kid study for his biology and algebra finals tomorrow for 9th grade (he will be working on the others over the weekend, and his dad and I will be drilling him from his study sheets), so I'm tapped out on final exam study time!

That being the case, I still did a quick read on what you posted. I think that your daughter would do well just sticking to the facts on the intent of the original framers of the Constitution than bringing in the Clinton crap. While it does make a point, it doesn't do it well, and it sounds horribly political. The point is better made just answering the question from how the founders intended and doing that strong, IMHO.

Being anyone in finals...a professor, a student, a parent...is challenging. Our kid was stressing over it all, and all we told him was...just prepare, just be as prepared as you can and then do it, no looking back or worrying. Same I do as a professor, the time is finished for instructing and learning, just see how the students do and take all into account for final grades.

Our kid got the laughing mania tonight over the stress, and we told him that was SO like finals in college, and he's doing it in early high school, and to laugh awhile and then get back to studying. Made for a nice break, and he wasn't so stressed later. Was spouting biology and algebra terms like he knew them all his life, actually joked about having an algebragasm :).

Kids gotta have fun with this, work hard and have fun. Kids in high school or older know it is serious business to make their grades and learn, but they still got to have fun. If it's all doom and gloom, it kills it all.

[Terry in Crapchester]

That being the case, I still did a quick read on what you posted. I think that your daughter would do well just sticking to the facts on the intent of the original framers of the Constitution than bringing in the Clinton crap. While it does make a point, it doesn't do it well, and it sounds horribly political. The point is better made just answering the question from how the founders intended and doing that strong, IMHO.

Agreed.

And btw, if she wants to bring up a concrete example using a President and executive privilege, imho, she would have been better advised to use Nixon and Watergate rather than Clinton and the Lewinsky scandal. That's not a political take, but is based on the fact that, at least in the Nixon case, the U.S. Supreme Court did have occasion to pass on the concept of executive privilege.

United States v. Nixon

[BSmack]

ok, here are her answers. They might be quite full of factual holes, so fire away in critique. I will just say that she writes quite well and I'm quite proud of her for even taking this on.

Seriously, find the fallacies in these statements and suggest corrective action, please. I'm not paying 20k a year for her to finish any less than at the top of her class.

I'll give you as many as I can find before I have to go to work.

Question One

America’s Founding Fathers created a system of representative government. Their goal was to keep a balance of powers between the different branches of government. This allowed each branch the ability to “check” the other branches to keep the power spread equally among them.

This whole paragraph should be stricken. It has nothing to do with the topic.

Executive privilege is the power held by the President of the United States and other members of the Executive Branch to allow them to resist certain encroachments, or keep information confidential. Thomas Jefferson was the first president to use executive privilege.

Does she even understand the question? Scratch the reference to Jefferson for now and include something germane to the question "why is this concept important to the doctrine of Separation of Powers?"

Oh, BTW, props to her I guess for not completely ripping Wikipedia's defintion word for word.

Even though executive privilege is not directly mentioned in the Constitution, it is clearly a legitimate presidential power.

This is where she should be referencing Jefferson with the specific example of Aaron Burr's trial. She is not a Supreme Court Justice, so why is she saying things like " it is clearly a legitimate presidential power" without backing them up with cites?

In writing the Constitution, the Framers sought out the most effective way to run government.

No shit? Really? Why is this sentence here? To fill up space?

John Locke wrote a book called Second Treatise of Government, which had a great effect on the Framer’s work. He addressed the idea that most power should be vested in the Executive Branch, and he proposed giving the executive “the power of doing public good without a rule.” Locke thought that the executive should always have the power to act in emergency situations.

That's all well and good, but she needs to tie Locke's work to something more tangible like a SCOTUS decision or even something from the Federalist Papers. In other words, where is the evidence that the Founders even knew who Locke was, or derived any inspiration from him?

In the unfortunate case of Bill Clinton and the sex scandal,

A much better sentence would be "In the case of Bill Clinton's sex scandal".

he claimed executive privilege on the basis of the original intentions of the Framers. He claimed that secrecy was absolutely a necessity in conducting the business of the presidency. Since the very early years of this country, it has been widely recognized that presidents should have the right to secrecy so that they can conduct the business of the nation. In this instance, it was a clear misuse of the executive privilege power.

She needs to cite exactly where Clinton claimed executive privilege. I'm sure it can be found somewhere. And she might want to cite something in support of her position that "it was a clear misuse of the executive privilege power". You know how those liberal professors can be. ;)

The doctrine of separation of powers was designed to keep the government balanced and let no one branch of government have superiority over another. The concept of executive privilege is important to the doctrine of separation of powers because it puts a strain on the balance of power in the government.

This should have been at the beginning of the essay.

With executive privilege, the president has the right to withhold certain information from other branches of government. Neither the Judicial nor the Legislative Branch can do this.

Change the beginning of the sentence to read something like "The doctrine of Executive Privilege allows the President to ..."

Over the years, presidents have used executive privilege for different purposes. Some were legitimate, like in the case of withholding information for the protection of the nation. Other uses of the power can even be considered criminal. In the cases of Nixon, Clinton, and at times even George W. Bush have abused the power and used it to cover up criminal actions.

Some specific cites would be nice.

Ok, I can see a lot wrong with that. But is it good enough to bullshit a decent grade from a teacher at this school? It might, so I don't want to fix what ain't broke.

Input, losers. Input!

There's a LOT broke with that essay. I don't even have time to get to the second essay today. But trust me, it is just as bad. If she wants to graduate with honors, she's going to have to tighten up her game big time. I would give it a C.

BTW: She needs to learn the basic format of all college essay papers. That is, answer the question and use 3 well argued cites to back it up. Then finish the paper by linking the cites back to the original question in a way that reaffirms your answer. This is basic shit that she should already know by now.

[BSmack]

OK... things are slow right now, so on to question two...

Question Two
A)
America is continuing to put more and more emphasis on the economy, and the more emphasis put on by the people, the less effective the president can really be. Domestically, voters tend to want things that conflict with each other. For instance, they enjoy low interest rates, but they also like low inflation. These conflict because if one is going to be low, the other usually must be higher.

OK, I would seriously consider failing her for this paragraph alone. WTF does this have to do with the question?

Voters also expect the president to be able to control the economy by a simple finger point, but truthfully, his power is very limited. Even though this fact is known, the high hopes are still there. Opinion polls have shown that the economy is the number one problem facing the country today in the eyes of voters. Right now, our economy is the best it has been since Reagan, but the complaints about the economy are still brewing.

She's still not answering the question.

Since the United States is one of the most dominant powers in the world, it makes it even more difficult for a president to have much control over economic performance. After World War II, the United States finally took the leap out of isolationism and ran to the forefront of global economics.

OK, that's it, she fails. She is not even close to either answering the question or demonstrating even basic understanding of the course material. I'd give her a combined grade of a D for both essays.

BTW: What is her major?

[BSmack]

Some material from Purdue University...

What is a well written answer to an essay question?

It is...
Well Focused

Be sure to answer the question completely, that is, answer all parts of the question. Avoid "padding." A lot of rambling and ranting is a sure sign that the writer doesn't really know what the right answer is and hopes that somehow, something in that overgrown jungle of words was the correct answer.

Well Organized

Don't write in a haphazard "think-as-you-go" manner. Do some planning and be sure that what you write has a clearly marked introduction which both states the point(s) you are going to make and also, if possible, how you are going to proceed. In addition, the essay should have a clearly indicated conclusion which summarizes the material covered and emphasizes your thesis or main point.

Well Supported

Do not just assert something is true, prove it. What facts, figures, examples, tests, etc. prove your point? In many cases, the difference between an A and a B as a grade is due to the effective use of supporting evidence.

Well Packaged

People who do not use conventions of language are thought of by their readers as less competent and less educated. If you need help with these or other writing skills, come to the Writing Lab!

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/ ... essay.html

There's more on the linked page. All of it is essential advice.

[atomicdad]

Dohhhh,

Brutal, but spot on what the little lass needs to do. Now Bri, be a gentleman and help pick her teeth up off the floor.

[Jimmy Medalions]

C-...if she blew me.

No doubt. Dumb and ugly usually = blow jobs.

[Cuda]

The technique for the ugly ones is to have her blow you while you're grading exams, so you don't have to look at her while she's working or talk to her when she's done.

[BSmack]

Dohhhh,

Brutal, but spot on what the little lass needs to do. Now Bri, be a gentleman and help pick her teeth up off the floor.

I have a feeling she'll be fine. Writing well is a skill most high school grads sorely lack. She's hardly unusual.

[War Wagon]

BTW: What is her major?

Biblical studies. She's making noises about being a missionary. Who am I to tell her different?

Thanks, Bri. Exactly what I was reaching for.

She takes criticism well and tries to use to advantage.

I'll share your thoughts with her. Thanks again.

[Dinsdale]

Even though this fact is known

YIKES!

Although I certainly appreciate the young lady's drive to achieve that which she's genetically predisposed to never attain...

She might wanna clean that one up a bit, too.

[Ang]

WW,

Just support her. It's your job as a dad. Growing up can be a hard thing, and it sounds like she is making her way with some confidence. If she is anything like anyone else I've known, the way may or may not change, but she will will still have the confidence. So, always support her all you can.

Being a parent is not easy. You think that just because you do things well that your kid will do things well, and that is not always the case. We are sweating finals this semester for our kid because he checked out...after being a total honor student all his years in elementary, he struggled in middle school and his last year was a dead end, all d's. Now he is in his first year of high school and he is faced with being kicked out if he doesn't make his grades.

Thing is...after him chucking it all the first 9 weeks...we went military. He had a 1.4 grade average and didn't give a shit, so we told him...your life is over. For the past two months, he has gone to after school detention every single day, and then studies at home each night for two hours, and shows us every single paper and assignment he turns in. He checks with his biology teacher on wednesday at lunch, and stays to chat after school with his english and bible teachers. He works every single moment of his life, and is not allowed to get on the internet unless it's on his "free day" on saturday. And he is actually very happy about it, very proud of all the work he has put in, and walking around the house confident, and joking with me and his dad, instead of the sulking thing he used to do.

The result has been...both biology and algebra, which were very low F's at 9 weeks (in the 40's) are now at C level, and after the biology final...his teacher actually called our house to let him know he made an 86 on the final. The academic dean called our house over the weekend to say she has never seen a kid turn around like this, and just wanted to say that whatever happens on his final grades she will go to bat for him to stay in school.

Thing being, you just never know. Our kid was always the honor roll student, then decided he didn't give a shit and hit the bottom, and now is doing well and making believers of doubters. Bottom line is support your kid and push him/her to do the best they can do. It's really all any parent can do. The rest is up to the kid.