PL SC 428 Final Exam Questions With Complete Solutions

Why did John McCain pick Sarah Palin for VP? correct answer: - Palin was young, an outsider Republican - Mayor and Governor of Alaska - Balanced family and work What did the McCain campaign not consider when selecting Palin in regard to gender? correct answer: - Motherhood (Has 5 children, mostly young) - Bristol Palin (Teen pregnancy, not married) - Women have to prove that they are qualified for the job What made Palin stick out? correct answer: - Member of the NRA and Feminists for Life (anti-abortion) - "Small town sincerity" (modest, humble, came from "small town America" - Benefitted from changes in women's movement before her - Young and female - Balance of family and work How was Sarah Palin's approach to power different than Hillary Clinton, Geraldine Ferraro, or other previous Democratic women in politics? correct answer: Sarah Palin had held state executive office, was a relatively young mother of five, and successfully had an independent career with help from her extended family. In terms of gender and sexism, what were two things Traister observed with the media's treatment of Sarah Palin's nomination in BGDC? correct answer: 1. Palin's nomination for VP was aimed to gain women voters 2. Palin and HRC received the same forms of sexism Palin reinforced _________________ while also symbolizing a woman who was balancing work and family correct answer: Traditional Gender Norms How was Bristol Palin used as part of Palin's political platform? correct answer: - Bristol chose to keep the baby, rejected abortion - Reinforced anti-abortion stance How did Sarah Palin's rhetoric about American values change the conversation about class in the US? correct answer: Making arguments that her Republican politics represented "real" American, core values, the McCain/Palin campaign seemed to connect with Blue Collar/middle class voters What is Traister's analysis of Sarah Palin, pro-woman rhetoric, and feminism? correct answer: Republicans (and Palin) were suddenly eager to talk about sexism in politics as well as how far women had come in the political sphere. However, these sentiments were distorted, a false feminism that didn't understand what progress for women actually means. After being urged to pick a woman for the vice presidential seat, McCain did. Why did this gather criticism from women inside his campaign? correct answer: Even though there were few women in the McCain campaign, none--not even his senior advisor--had been brought into conversations about Palin Glass Ceiling correct answer: - Invisible, upward boundary - Represents the potential boundary of women in politics achieving top-level positions