2006年VOA标准英语-Former Senator, VP Candidate Edwards Joins 2008

By Jim Malone
Washington
28 December 2006

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John Edwards announces his candidacy for president in an area affected by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, 28 Dec 2006

Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards is the latest Democrat² to formally announce he is running for president in 2008. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has details from Washington.

Edwards made his official announcement in New Orleans, which is still struggling to recover from the devastation³ of Hurricane Katrina more than a year ago.

"If we actually want to change this country, and if we want to move America the way it needs to move, we are going to have to do it. All of us together," he said.

Edwards says he will work to bridge the economic divide in the country between rich and poor, a divide he says is on display in New Orleans.

Edwards will emphasize domestic issues in his presidential bid. He favors raising the minimum wage, expanding health care and making college education more affordable⁴.

On foreign policy, Edwards favors withdrawing some U.S. troops from Iraq and opposes a surge of U.S. forces into Baghdad, something President Bush is said to be considering as he prepares to announce a new strategy for the Iraq war.

"The biggest responsibility of the next President of the United States is to reestablish America's leadership role in the world, starting with Iraq," said Edwards. "And we need to make it clear that we intend to leave Iraq and turn over the responsibility of Iraq to the Iraqi people. The best way to make that clear is to actually start leaving."

Edwards voted for the Iraq war when he was in the Senate, but now says that vote was a mistake.

This is Edwards' second bid for the presidency⁵. He lost out to John Kerry in the 2004 Democratic primaries, but wound up as Senator Kerry's vice⁶ presidential running mate in a losing effort against President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Edwards will likely face some formidable rivals in the battle for the Democratic Party presidential nomination⁷.

New York Senator Hillary Clinton is expected to announce her candidacy soon, as is Illinois Senator Barack Obama. Other prominent Democrats⁸ including Senators Kerry, Joseph Biden of Delaware and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut are also expected to decide shortly whether they are running.

John Fortier, a political expert at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, says Edwards and other Democrats could have a difficult time trying to share the spotlight⁹ with Clinton and Obama.

"You have Barack Obama, a very new and interesting and exciting African-American candidate, who is very inexperienced, but very exciting to many Democrats," he said. "I think he and Hillary Clinton will probably have the lion's share of the media attention."

Edwards plans to run hard in the early caucus¹⁰ and primary elections that begin in January of 2008. A recent poll gave Edwards a big lead in the first caucus state of Iowa over Senator Clinton and other Democratic hopefuls.

Edwards is the third Democrat to formally enter the 2008 race, joining Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and Ohio Congressman¹¹ Dennis Kucinich.

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

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 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

8 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》

9 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

10 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

11 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。