HOMENATION
ELECTION 2000
Breaking Down
the Electorate
Can Bush Bring
Us Together?
Can the Court Recover?
WORKSHEET:
Analyzing the
Supreme Court Decision
Is This Any Way To Vote?
The Wildest Election
in History
CONGRESS
The Mods' Squad
Capitol Hill
WORKSHEET:
The Changing Composition of the House
LAW
The Long Way Home
BUSINESS
Score One for AOLTW
This Time It's Different
WORLD
MIDDLE EAST
A Bridge to Peace
The Bloody Mountain
Sneak Attack
WORKSHEET:
Interpreting
Political Cartoons
YUGOSLAVIA
The End of Milosevic
PERU
Happy in His Hotel Exile
ENVIRONMENT
The Road to Disaster
WORKSHEET:
Current Events In Review
Answers
Can Bush Bring Us Together? (pages 3-5)
1. George W. Bush won the electoral vote; Al Gore won the popular vote. The cartoon on page 3 notes that it is possible for the electoral and popular votes to be won by different candidates; the cartoonist likens this phenomenon to a train attempting to travel in opposite directions at the same time.
2. Bush must unify a divided nation and restore confidence in America’s political and judicial institutions.
Can the Court Recover? (pages 6-8)
1. The central finding in the Supreme Court’s decision was that the Florida recount was illegal because it violated the Equal-Protection Clause of the Constitution. The impact of the decision was to halt the recounts in Florida and to award Florida’s 25 electoral votes to Bush, thereby giving him enough electoral votes to become the new President.
2. Some critics considered the ruling antidemocratic because they accused the court of standing in the way of counting valid votes. Others charged the Justices with contradicting their longheld positions to reach the results they wanted.
Partisan or Principled? (page 9)
Answers will vary.
Is This Any Way To Vote? (pages 10 and 11)
1. The Florida controversy revealed that a lot of ballots do not get counted in American elections due to faulty voting equipment and voter confusion.
2. The article cites a variety of voting techniques, including punch cards, optical scanning, lever machines and paper ballots.
The Wildest Election in History (pages 12 and 13)
1. Gore retracted his concession on Election Night because he had learned that he and Bush were virtually tied in Florida. This meant that an automatic recount would occur and that the election was too close to call.
2. Nader received nearly three million votes. If a small fraction of those votes had gone to Gore in Florida or in other close states, then Gore would have been the new President.
The Mods’ Squad (pages 14 and 15)
1. Given the composition of the Senate and House, observers believe that each party will have to appeal to the opposition’s moderate ranks in order to succeed in passing legislation.
2. The House has 221 Republicans and 212 Democrats; the Senate has 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats. Vice President Dick Cheney holds the tie-breaking vote in the Senate.
Capitol Hill (page 16)
1. Hillary Clinton decided to run for the Senate at the end of Bill Clinton’s impeachment saga, when she realized that a large segment of the American public genuinely liked her.
2. Mrs. Clinton was accused of "carpetbagging" because she is not a native New Yorker. But this charge faded away because she campaigned extensively in all 62 counties of New York and convinced the state’s residents—especially women—that she would work hard for them in the Senate.
The Changing Composition of the House (page 17)
1. The Constitution says that the number of Representatives shall be apportioned "according to their respective Numbers."
2. AZ, TX, GA and FL will be gaining two seats; CA, NV, CO and NC will be gaining one seat.
3. NY and PA will each lose two seats; WI, MI, IL, IN, OH, MS and OK will each lose one seat.
4. Answers will vary.
5. The map indicates that Americans have moved out of the Midwest and Northeast and have relocated to the deep South and West.
The Long Way Home (page 18)
1. Wen Ho Lee is a nuclear scientist who worked at Los Alamos. He was accused of stealing the "crown jewels" of America’s nuclear arsenal.
2. The government dropped 58 of 59 charges against Lee; a top FBI agent recanted some of his testimony against Lee, while President Clinton admitted he had had reservations about some aspects of the case.
Score One for AOLTW (page 19)
1. The ftc demanded "open access" to AOL-Time Warner’s cable and Internet services.
2. The new company offers a vast array of broadcasting, music, movies, publishing and online services.
This Time It’s Different (pages 20 and 21)
1. The "New Economy" refers to "dotcom" businesses and companies based on digital technology; the "Old Economy" is based on a non-digital model and involves production of traditional goods and services. Examples of Old Economy industries include railroads, department stores and car manufacturers.
2. Though workers are being laid off, many are finding new jobs quickly; this has helped keep the overall unemployment rate low.
3. Answers will vary.
A Bridge to Peace (pages 22 and 23)
1. President Clinton’s proposal called for the creation of a Palestinian state, with Israel giving up all of the Gaza Strip and 95% of the West Bank; each side would also have to make additional concessions.
2. Barak said he would accept the plan "as a basis for discussion" if Arafat would; Arafat sent Clinton a long letter that contained 26 questions and objections.
The Bloody Mountain (page 24)
1. Violence erupted at Temple Mount after Israeli right-winger Ariel Sharon visited the site and reasserted Israeli rights to the land. This triggered a violent reaction from Arabs who were angered by what they saw as Sharon’s arrogance.
2. Many deeply religious people believe that political solutions cannot answer the question of who should control this holy site, and that God will resolve this dispute in blood.
Sneak Attack (pages 25 and 26)
1. The Cole was refueling in Yemen as part of a diplomatic effort to improve ties with Yemen and draw the country away from its alliance with Saddam Hussein.
2. The writer states that the breakdown of the peace process and the escalating violence in the Middle East have "emboldened Islamic extremists and hardened resentment toward the U.S."
Interpreting Political Cartoons (page 27)
Answers will vary depending on the cartoon selected for analysis.
The End of Milosevic (pages 28 and 29)
1. Milosevic set his own fate in motion when he called an election nine months early. Contrary to expectations, Milosevic lost this election to his opponent, Vojislav Kostunica.
2. The country is expected to shift from the tyrannical regime run by Milosevic to a democratic society with a free press and open elections.
Happy in His Hotel Exile (page 30)
1. Fujimori resigned the Presidency of Peru by sending a fax while on a visit to Japan.
2. Fujimori began his presidency as a popular reformer, but his government became increasingly mired in charges of corruption. Though he won a third term in 2000, Fujimori had announced that he would step down as President in July of 2001.
The Road to Disaster (page 31)
1. Brazil’s government wants to pave br-163 in order to bring about economic progress by linking the Amazon River with southern Brazil. This would make it easier to export crops such as soybeans.
2. Paving the road would put a large portion of the rain forest at risk of destruction by fire; the burning of the Amazon is contributing to global warming and other environmental damage.
Current Events in Review (page 32)
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