POLS101 American Government class

After watching the PBS documentary Cheney’s Law in class today, please answer the following questions in a three (3) page typewritten paper.

1. What events during the Ford, Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations shaped Dick Cheney’s views of executive branch powers?
2. David Addington and Dick Cheney have worked together for two decades  and share similar views on executive power. Explain these views.
3. What did Vice President Cheney hope to accomplish by expanding presidential power after the Sept. 11 attacks?
4. What role did the Justice Department under Attorney General John  Ashcroft play in deterring the Bush administration’s policies on  interrogation and intelligence gathering?
5. What is a signing statement? How does a signing statement affect a  congressional law? What effect does a signing statement have on the  checks and balances between Congress and the executive branch?
6. In which areas discussed in the program (torture, domestic  wiretapping, redefining presidential authority and the use of signing  statements) do you feel the president and vice president are justified  in their actions? Why or why not?