Senate Confirmation

Watch the full movie of Advise & Consent (1962).
Video Link: http://viooz.ac/movies/9367-advise-consent-1962.html

Attached the 1996 article by King and Riddlesperger investigates two sets of factors that could influence the Senate’s decision to confirm a cabinet nomination.
These include 1) presidential resources, such as (a) public support (b) the proportion of seats held by the president’s party in the chamber and 2) nominee qualifications, such as (c) his or her policy expertise, (d) whether or not the Senators believe he or she has a conflict of interest, and (e) whether or not the Senators believe he or she is accused of illegal or unethical behavior. They find that (d) and (e) are important factors. In the next subsequent article, King and Riddlesperger (2013) also find that (c) is an important factor. Using both of these articles for support on the “Advise and Consent” film, answer the following questions.

– Which of these five factors, (a) through (e), help explain the controversy surrounding the character Robert Leffingwell’s nomination? Explain your rationale with evidence from the film. Are there other factors or interesting points that are not captured by King and Riddlesperger (1996) that could explain the controversy?