2007年VOA标准英语-US Democratic Presidential Contenders Work to B

By Jim Malone
Washington
03 August 2007

The war in Iraq and how best to protect the U.S. from terrorist attacks promise to be major issues in the 2008 presidential election. Democratic presidential contenders in particular are trying to bolster¹ public confidence in their ability to deal with national security threats. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington.

Sen. John Kerry (file photo)

Democrats² realize that a major reason John Kerry narrowly lost the 2004 presidential race is that President Bush got higher marks on protecting national security not just from Republican voters, but from independents as well.

So Democrats seeking the White House in 2008 are mindful of shoring up their credentials³ in dealing⁴ with national security issues.

For example, Illinois Senator Barack Obama said as president he would shift U.S. military forces from Iraq to Afghanistan and would be willing to go after terrorist sanctuaries⁵ in Pakistan even without the permission of the Pakistani government.

"The first step must be to get off the wrong battlefield in Iraq and take the fight to the terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said. "Ending the war will help isolate⁶ al-Qaida and give Iraqis the incentive⁷ and opportunity to take them out. It will also allow us to direct badly needed resources to Afghanistan."

Later in the week, Obama found himself on the defensive⁸ after he was asked by the Associated Press if he would consider using nuclear weapons to go after terrorists in Afghanistan or Pakistan.

Obama initially⁹ said it would be a profound mistake to use nuclear weapons in any circumstance in situations involving civilians¹⁰. But then he quickly added that there has been no discussion of nuclear weapons, and said the issue was, in his words, not on the table.

Some of Obama's Democratic rivals quickly seized on his comments to question his foreign policy expertise¹¹.

Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut said he found some of Obama's recent comments on foreign policy confusing and confused.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton at candidate debate, 23 July 2007

Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, who leads among Democratic presidential contenders in the polls, also raised questions about Obama's comments.

"I think that presidents should be careful at all times in discussing the use or non-use of nuclear weapons," she said. "Presidents since the Cold War have used nuclear deterrence¹² to keep the peace and I do not believe that any president should make any blanket statements with respect to the use or non-use of nuclear weapons."

Political experts say Obama's recent comments on foreign policy provided an opening for some of the more senior Democratic contenders with extensive foreign policy experience like Senator Dodd and Senator Joe Biden of Delaware, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Sen. Joseph Biden (file photo)

"But I think you saw this week how, increasingly, his [Obama's] opponents are going to treat him," said Don Frederick, national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and a guest on this week's edition of Issues in the News on VOA. "Clinton and now Biden and now Dodd are now basically saying, nice try kid but you are really sort of half-baked. Biden used the 'naïve' word. They are really going to try to depict¹³ him as in over his head."

Given the importance of national security and foreign policy in next year's election, analysts¹⁴ say it is crucial for the Democratic presidential contenders to present themselves as capable leaders on those two issues.

In addition, Democratic political strategists believe the public's disapproval¹⁵ of President Bush's handling of Iraq has also eroded¹⁶ public confidence in the administration's ability to keep the U.S. safe from further terrorist attacks.

Democratic presidential hopefuls, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson; Sen. Joseph Biden, participate in a debate, 23 July 2007

Democratic pollster Celinda Lake is urging the Democratic presidential contenders and Democrats in Congress to more forcefully challenge President Bush and his Republican supporters on the terrorism issue.

"In this current environment, Democrats can benefit enormously by engaging Republicans, not just in the domestic argument about homeland security, such as implementing¹⁷ the recommendations of the 9/11 commission and secure our ports, but in a broader discussion of homeland security that includes Iraq, Afghanistan, terrorism and securing America's place in the world," she said.

Efforts by Clinton and Obama to shift the national security focus away from Iraq and back to al-Qaida are at odds¹⁸ with President Bush's view that Iraq remains¹⁹ the central front in the war on terror and the battle against al-Qaida.

"To try to shake our will they will kill innocent women and children so it gets on the TV screens so that we say, it is not worth it, let us just back off," he said.

Republican political strategists believe the Democrats are still vulnerable on the issue of national security, despite the erosion of public support for the Iraq war. They argue that a Republican candidate who is seen as strong on national security like former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani would be a formidable opponent in the general election against any eventual²⁰ Democratic nominee²¹, whether it is Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama or one of the other six Democratic contenders.

1 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

2 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》

3 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。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

6 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

7 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

8 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

9 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

10 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

11 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

12 deterrence   

威慑，制止； 制止物，制止因素； 挽留的事物； 核威慑

参考例句：

• An extreme school of "disarmers" pronounced stable deterrence was a dangerous deception. “裁军论者”中的极端派声称，稳定的威摄是一种危险的骗局。
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。

13 depict   

vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述

参考例句：

• I don't care to see plays or films that depict murders or violence.我不喜欢看描写谋杀或暴力的戏剧或电影。
• Children's books often depict farmyard animals as gentle,lovable creatures.儿童图书常常把农场的动物描写得温和而可爱。

14 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

15 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

16 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

17 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

18 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

19 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

20 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

21 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。