美国国家公共电台 NPR--Ahead of the midterms, Biden takes to the road to tout Democratic successes

Ahead of the midterms, Biden takes to the road to tout¹ Democratic successes

Transcript³

President Biden is on his biggest midterm campaign outing yet, a trip that is taking him to Colorado, California and Oregon. But compared to past presidents, he hasn't been on the road that much.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

President Biden heads to Oregon today, the third day of his biggest campaign trip yet, ahead of the midterms. Where he's going and what he's talking about says a lot about how his party is approaching these upcoming elections. NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith is traveling with Biden and joins us now from Los Angeles. Hi, Tam.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE⁴: Good morning.

FADEL: So you've been in Southern California with President Biden for a couple days. Before that, you were in Colorado. What has he been up to?

KEITH: He's touting⁵ administration policies and successes. In Colorado, he announced the designation of an important historic site, something that the state senator, Michael Bennet, has been pushing for. And Bennet is on the ballot⁶ in November, and he's facing a tougher-than-expected race. But Colorado is an increasingly Democratic state, and so a visit from the president could help get Democrats⁷ out to vote. Here in LA, he stopped into a taco shop with mayoral candidate Karen Bass⁸. They also visited a big construction site where they're building a new metro⁹ line and talked about all the federal money going to that project and others.

And, you know, this is another part of the country where the Democratic president is quite welcome. But a little real talk - LA is also where Democrats come to Hoover up campaign cash from wealthy donors¹⁰. So last night, Biden appeared at a fundraiser with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and it raised $5 million for congressional candidates.

FADEL: So a little more real talk - President Biden's approval ratings are underwater. You mentioned places where he's welcome, but aren't there a lot of places where a Biden visit could hurt the Democratic candidates?

KEITH: Absolutely. There are a lot of places where he isn't appearing with the Democratic candidates. Biden's on this trip out West right now. We flew over Nevada, where Senator Catherine Cortez Masto has a tough race on her hands, but Air Force One didn't make a stop. Biden's also not visiting Arizona, where Democrat² Mark Kelly is trying to burnish¹¹ his credentials¹² as a moderate. And, you know, midterms are always rough for the president's party. I spoke¹³ with Lis Smith, a Democratic campaign consultant¹⁴ and author of "Any Given Tuesday," and she told me that Biden and his team are smart to focus on fundraising and also small-scale strategic stops where he actually can help.

LIS SMITH: The history books show that an incumbent¹⁵ president is not a boost to their party in their midterms. So if Jesus Christ himself were an incumbent president, members of his political party would probably stiff-arm him in a midterm election.

KEITH: Smith has informally advised Ohio Democratic Senate candidate Tim Ryan, who is one of those Democrats who's had some scheduling conflicts when Biden has visited his state. And she's glad, she said, that Biden isn't holding big campaign rallies in states with tight races, like former President Barack Obama did in 2010 and former President Donald Trump¹⁶ is doing right now.

FADEL: Later today, Biden's heading to Oregon. Isn't that a safe Democratic state?

KEITH: Well, there's a three-way race for governor, and it's giving Democrats some heartburn, and in part, that's because there's an independent candidate who's a former Democrat. So Biden is going there to deliver a message to his party, essentially¹⁷ to remind them that they are Democrats and that voting for an independent could split the vote and help the Republican. Biden yesterday was asked if we can expect to see him campaigning more in the coming weeks, and he said yes, but he didn't say whether that would include places like Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, where there are those more competitive Senate races.

FADEL: NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith is traveling with the president. Thanks, Tam.

KEITH: You're welcome.

1 tout   

v.推销，招徕；兜售；吹捧，劝诱

参考例句：

• They say it will let them tout progress in the war.他们称这将有助于鼓吹他们在战争中的成果。
• If your case studies just tout results,don't bother requiring registration to view them.如果你的案例研究只是吹捧结果，就别烦扰别人来注册访问了。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 touting   

v.兜售( tout的现在分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• He's been touting his novel around publishers for years. 他几年来一直到处找出版商兜售自己的小说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Technology industry leaders are touting cars as a hot area for growth. 科技产业领袖吹捧为增长热点地区的汽车。 来自互联网

6 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

7 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

9 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

10 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 burnish   

v.磨光；使光滑

参考例句：

• Many people,fearful for their jobs,are trying to burnish their contacts at other firms.许多人因为担心自己的工作，正在努力抹去和其他公司接触的痕迹。
• I burnish joyful sparks from my sorrows.我从伤痛里擦亮喜悦的火花。

12 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

15 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

16 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

17 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。