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Quiz for Analyzing Historical Evidence: Caricaturing the Candidates: Clinton and Obama in 2008

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Analyzing Historical Evidence: Caricaturing the Candidates: Clinton and Obama in 2008

Choose the best answer to each question.

Question

1. What was the cartoonist’s assumption about the outcome of the Democratic primaries when he drew the cartoon “The Political Machine” in February 2008?

Obama was a strong enough candidate to stop Hillary Clinton’s momentum.

Hillary Clinton would win because of Bill Clinton’s money and support.

Hillary Clinton’s political power and influence would easily defeat Obama.

Hillary Clinton would win because of the National Organization for Women.

Correct. The answer is C. In early February 2008, before Obama’s victory in the Iowa primary, the cartoonist was assuming that Hillary Clinton would easily defeat Obama thanks to her political strength; the support of her husband, Bill (feeding fuel into the engine); and the contributions of the National Organization for Women, pedaling the machine at the rear.

Incorrect. The correct answer is C. In early February 2008, before Obama’s victory in the Iowa primary, the cartoonist was assuming that Hillary Clinton would easily defeat Obama thanks to her political strength; the support of her husband, Bill (feeding fuel into the engine); and the contributions of the National Organization for Women, pedaling the machine at the rear.

Question

2. Why might the artist have chosen the Wizard of Oz theme to depict the state of the Democratic primary in the “I’m Melting” cartoon, published in late February 2008?

He could illustrate the way a naïve underdog could defeat a powerful enemy.

It allowed him to show Hillary Clinton as evil and Barack Obama as a girl.

He aimed to depict Barack Obama as a munchkin and Hillary Clinton as a witch.

He wished to convey the extent of the animosity that had developed between the two candidates.

Correct. The answer is A. The Wizard of Oz theme was useful for depicting Barack Obama as a naïve underdog who, to everyone’s surprise, defeated a large and powerful enemy. The theme was also apt for showing how Hillary Clinton’s candidacy quickly lost momentum after Obama’s early victories.

Incorrect. The correct answer is A. The Wizard of Oz theme was useful for depicting Barack Obama as a naïve underdog who, to everyone’s surprise, defeated a large and powerful enemy. The theme was also apt for showing how Hillary Clinton’s candidacy quickly lost momentum after Obama’s early victories.

Question

3. What does the “I’m Melting” cartoon suggest about how Barack Obama succeeded in surpassing his campaign rival, Hillary Clinton, by late-February 2008?

Obama defeated Clinton using her own weapon of feminine wiles.

Obama’s campaign took the moral high ground while Clinton’s relied on negative messages.

Americans proved more willing to vote for an unknown man than a famous woman.

Hillary Clinton relied on style more than substance, while Obama stressed substance first.

Correct. The answer is B. The cartoon suggests that Obama defeated Clinton using “high tone rhetoric” (illustrated by the Obama character’s bucket of water) against her repeated efforts to suggest that he was not well-suited to the job of U.S. president (illustrated by the broom marked “smear campaign”).

Incorrect. The correct answer is B. The cartoon suggests that Obama defeated Clinton using “high tone rhetoric” (illustrated by the Obama character’s bucket of water) against her repeated efforts to suggest that he was not well-suited to the job of U.S. president (illustrated by the broom marked “smear campaign”).

Question

4. Which of the following twentieth-century historical developments accounted for the fact that an African American man and a white woman were the main contenders for the Democratic nomination for U.S. president in 2008?

Wartime migration and 1950s prosperity

The New Deal and World War II

The civil rights and feminist movements

Bill Clinton’s presidency and the Iraq War

Correct. The answer is C. The Democratic contest between Obama and Clinton in 2008 was the product of many historical factors coming together, but it was most directly the result of the gains made by the civil rights movement and the women’s movement in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Incorrect. The correct answer is C. The Democratic contest between Obama and Clinton in 2008 was the product of many historical factors coming together, but it was most directly the result of the gains made by the civil rights movement and the women’s movement in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Question

5. Which of the following describes the larger significance of the fact that political cartoonists sought to avoid racist and sexist stereotypes in their caricatures of the Democratic presidential candidates in 2008?

It showed the extent to which big business dominated the newspaper industry by the twenty-first century.

It proved that the American media was dominated by political liberals.

It revealed the emphasis modern journalists continued to place on objectivity.

It demonstrated the impact of civil rights and feminism on mainstream culture.

Correct. The answer is D. The cartoonists’ conscious intention to avoid portraying Clinton and Obama using sexist and racist stereotypes showed an awareness of these issues that came from the civil rights and feminist movements. Although these two movements still had much to accomplish in 2008, both had a significant influence on mainstream culture and on Americans’ sensitivity to the issues of race and gender.

Incorrect. The correct answer is D. The cartoonists’ conscious intention to avoid portraying Clinton and Obama using sexist and racist stereotypes showed an awareness of these issues that came from the civil rights and feminist movements. Although these two movements still had much to accomplish in 2008, both had a significant influence on mainstream culture and on Americans’ sensitivity to the issues of race and gender.

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