VOA常速英语2007-US Presidential Selection Process Begins in Earl

By Jim Malone
Washington
25 October 2007

The lengthy¹ and complicated process of choosing the next president of the United States begins in early January when voters attend party caucuses³ and cast ballots⁴ in primaries to select the presidential nominees⁶ for the two main political parties. VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone has part three of our series on the 2008 election from Washington.

It begins in the Midwest state of Iowa where voters from both parties gather in small groups, or caucuses, to express their preference for who should be the presidential nominee⁵ of their party.

With so many candidates running in both parties, Iowa and other early contest states have a crucial role in winnowing⁷ down the field of contenders.

"It is more important than ever because the process is so compressed, there are some candidates who really are relying on Iowa to catapult them [into contention]," said Steffen Schmidt, a professor of political science at Iowa State University.

If history is any guide, contenders who do well in the early contests often go on to win the party nominations⁹. Those who falter¹⁰ in the early going usually are forced to withdraw from the race.

"Typically, the New Hampshire primary has been so important in part because it is done early and it has been one of the first real indicators¹¹ of how voters actually feel about the candidates, after all the polling, all the talk, all the money raising and so forth¹². New Hampshire is really the first election in the primary cycle," said Dante Scala, who teaches politics at the University of New Hampshire.

Scala adds that Iowa and New Hampshire also represent the last examples of what is known as retail¹³ politics, where voters can meet the candidates in person or in small groups and ask questions.

"We still see a lot of that retail politicking¹⁴, one on one, town hall meetings and so forth. It is still taking place up here," he said.

Schmidt says citizens in the early voting states are aware of their special role in the U.S. presidential election process.

"We take it and they take it very seriously. There is a sort of a sense in this state that you have a kind of a moral responsibility to participate in politics, to inform yourself," he said.

That sense of commitment to the process is an essential part of the Iowa caucuses, where voters head out on a winter's night to listen to speeches before making known their candidate preferences.

"Caucuses require much more of a commitment than a primary does. It is at a single time on a cold, usually, January night. And it is not like going and voting and leaving," said Arthur Sanders, a political scientist at Drake University in Iowa.

The early voting states can also be picky about their candidates.

For example, Dante Scala says presidential contenders who have an independent streak¹⁵ often do well in New Hampshire.

"New Hampshire voters tend to have an ornery streak, and that tends to be toward introducing something that is new, a candidate that is for change and reform, that typically is one who suits New Hampshire voter's tastes," he said.

For example, Republican John McCain's popularity with independent voters helped him win the New Hampshire primary against George Bush in the 2000 election.

Iowa has played an important role in the nominating process since 1976, while the New Hampshire primary has been an influential¹⁶ stop on the campaign trail since the early 1950's.

Some critics suggest Iowa and New Hampshire wield¹⁷ too much influence in the presidential nominating process, and that other states should have the chance to hold their caucuses or primaries first.

But Drake University expert Arthur Sanders says there are advantages to having Iowa and New Hampshire go first.

"The best defense¹⁸ of the system is that you start in some smaller states, Iowa and New Hampshire, where candidates without enormous resources can, in fact, compete, maybe not on an even field, but on a more even field," he said.

Several states have now decided¹⁹ to crowd the election calendar early in 2008. Florida and Michigan want to move up the dates of their primaries. That has resulted in some of the traditional early contest states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina holding their caucuses and primaries even earlier than usual.

More than 20 states are scheduled to hold primary or caucus² elections on February 5 of next year, meaning the battle for the party nominations could be over earlier than ever.

Stephen Wayne, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., says the compressed and advanced primary calendar could help the current frontrunners in each party, Democrat²⁰ Hillary Clinton and Republican Rudy Giuliani.

"And you have to remember now that we have a heavily front-loaded campaign where the big states are going first. Michigan, Florida, and then on February 5th, we have New York and California, and some of those states are winner take all states. Some of them, like Florida and California and New York are much more moderate states and Giuliani can do very well and just build up a sizable lead," he said.

If the party nomination⁸ battles are essentially²¹ settled by February or March, it would set up an eight-month general-election campaign between the Democratic and Republican Party nominees culminating on Election Day, November 4, 2008.

1 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

2 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。

3 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

4 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

6 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

7 winnowing   

v.扬( winnow的现在分词 )；辨别；选择；除去

参考例句：

• The petrel came winnowing in from afar on the sea. 海燕从遥远的地方振翼飞来。 来自辞典例句
• He is winnowing wheat now. 他现在正在簸小麦。 来自辞典例句

8 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。

9 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

10 falter   

vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚

参考例句：

• His voice began to falter.他的声音开始发颤。
• As he neared the house his steps faltered.当他走近房子时，脚步迟疑了起来。

11 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

12 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

13 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

14 politicking   

n.政治活动，竞选活动v.从政( politic的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A lot of politicking preceded the choice of the new director. 在选新领导人之前进行了大量的拉拢活动。 来自辞典例句
• This colleague is always politicking. 这位同僚总是忙于政治活动。 来自互联网

15 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

16 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

17 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

18 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

19 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

20 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。

21 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。