VOA标准英语10月-Polls Show Obama Benefits from Economic Concerns

New poll results indicate that U.S. voters are concerned with the financial crisis and it is having an impact on the presidential election campaign between Democrat¹ Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone is monitoring the shifting trends from Washington.
　

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama speaks at a rally in La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1 Oct 2008

MARGIN²-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px">The latest Washington Post/ABC News poll shows Senator Obama leading Senator McCain by 50 to 46 percent. Last week, Obama held a nine-point lead.

But Quinnipiac University's latest survey in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania finds Obama leading McCain by a substantial margin in all three states, which are considered critical in the state-by-state electoral voting on November 4.

Obama leads McCain by eight points in both Ohio and Florida, and by 15 points in Pennsylvania.

Quinnipiac polling director Peter Brown says voter concerns about the economy and the ongoing³ financial crisis appear to be helping⁴ Obama and hurting McCain.

"Largely, it is the economy," said Peter Brown. "Fairly or not, voters blame the incumbent⁵ party for the mess on Wall Street. And that has certainly redounded⁶ to Senator Obama's favor and to Senator McCain's detriment⁷."

Both presidential candidates say they support a revamped financial rescue plan in Congress, and both now spend much of their time on the campaign trail talking about economic issues.
　

Republican presidential candidate John McCain delivers a speech on the economy in Independence, Missouri, 1 Oct 2008

This is Senator McCain during a campaign stop in Missouri:

"If we fail to act, the gears of our economy will grind to a halt," said John McCain. "This is a moment of great testing. At such moments, there are those on both sides of this debate who will act on principle."

McCain says he is better equipped to deal with the economic problems because of his record as a budget-cutter and as a political maverick⁸ willing to work with both major political parties during his long tenure⁹ in Congress.

Senator Obama has made economic concerns the centerpiece of his argument that his election as president would bring change to Washington.

Obama says it is important for Congress to act quickly in a bipartisan way on the credit crisis. But Obama also leaves no doubt that he is blaming eight years of Bush administration economic policies for the current problems.

"This crisis in the final verdict on this failed philosophy, a philosophy that we cannot afford to continue," said Barack Obama. "We cannot have eight more years of this philosophy. And that is why I am running for president of the United States of America!"

The next major event in the campaign is Thursday's debate between the two vice¹⁰ presidential candidates, Republican Sarah Palin and Democratic Senator Joe Biden.

Most experts give Biden an edge heading in the debate because of his long experience as a Senator in Washington, and because Palin has seemed hesitant in recent television interviews.

But Palin did get good reviews in her debates when she ran for Alaska governor two years ago and won, and some analysts¹¹ say a competent performance in Thursday's debate could ease some doubts that she is up to the job of being vice president.

1 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。

2 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 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。

6 redounded   

v.有助益( redound的过去式和过去分词 )；及于；报偿；报应

参考例句：

• The ill-doings of the fascist chieftain redounded upon himself. 法西斯头子干的种种坏事使他自食其果。 来自辞典例句
• His past misdeeds redounded on him. 他过去所做的坏事报应在他自己身上。 来自辞典例句

7 detriment   

n.损害；损害物，造成损害的根源

参考例句：

• Smoking is a detriment to one's health.吸烟危害健康。
• His lack of education is a serious detriment to his career.他的未受教育对他的事业是一种严重的妨碍。

8 maverick   

adj.特立独行的；不遵守传统的；n.持异议者，自行其是者

参考例句：

• He's a maverick.He has his own way of thinking about things.他是个特异独行的人。对事情有自己的看法。
• You're a maverick and you'll try anything.你是个爱自行其是的人，样样事情都要尝试一下。

9 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

10 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。

11 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。