VOA标准英语10月-Obama Responds To McCain Character Attacks

The political rhetoric¹ continues to heat up in the U.S. presidential race. On Friday, Democrat² Barack Obama accused Republican John McCain of trying to divide the country with angry remarks and negative television ads. For his part, McCain demanded that Obama answer questions about his relationship with a 1960's anti-war radical³, William Ayers. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has the latest from Washington.
　

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama waves at a rally at the Genoa Park and Amphitheater in Columbus, 10 Oct 2008

MARGIN¹⁴-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px">Democrat Barack Obama continued his campaign swing through the critical state of Ohio by focusing on the economy.

Obama urged Americans to remain calm even as they tracked the hour-to-hour volatility⁴ of the stock market and their dwindling⁵ retirement⁶ accounts. "So now is not the time for fear. Now is not the time for panic," he said. "Now is not the time to turn Americans against each other. Now is the time for resolve and steady leadership."

Obama also noted⁷ the continuing attacks on his character from the McCain campaign. Obama said it was part of a McCain strategy to divert public attention away from the ongoing⁸ economic crisis and whip up anger among Republicans attending McCain rallies.

"Nothing is easier than riling up a crowd by stoking anger and division, but that is not what we need right now in the United States," he said. "The times are too serious. The challenges are too great. The American people aren't looking for someone who can divide this country. They are looking for someone who can lead this country."
　

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain greets supporters at a rally in La Crosse, Wisconsin, 10 Oct 2008

Senator McCain campaigned Friday in another key Midwest battleground state, Wisconsin. McCain urged supporters to rally behind his campaign in the final weeks before the election on November 4.

"I am here this morning to ask your help in a tough and hard-fought election," he said. "And it is tough and we are the underdogs and we are going to come from behind like we have every time in the past. How many times, my friends, have the pundits⁹ written off the McCain campaign? We are going to fool them again. We are going to fool them one more time."

McCain argued that he would be a stronger leader to deal with the financial crisis.

But McCain also kept up his attack on Obama over the Democrat's ties with 1960's anti-war radical William Ayers. Ayers and Obama live near one another in Chicago and have served together on charity boards, but the Obama campaign says the two men are not close.

During his Wisconsin rally, McCain said it was time Obama was more forthcoming about his relationship with Ayers. "Rather than answer his critics, Senator Obama will try to distract you from noticing that he never answers the serious and legitimate¹¹ questions he has been asked," he said.

The McCain campaign has also released a new television ad that accuses Obama of lying to cover up his links with Ayers. Many political experts question whether McCain's strategy of attacking Obama's character will have much of an impact in the midst of a financial crisis.

Larry Sabato directs the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. "They will be determined¹² on the basis of those big issues, especially the ones bundled with the economy," he said. "That is what will determine this election no matter how many charges are made back and forth¹⁰ about William Ayers or the Keating Five or all the rest of it. These are almost irrelevancies."

The continuing focus on the economy seems to be helping¹³ Obama and hurting McCain in public opinion polls.

The latest Reuters-Zogby-Cspan poll gives Obama a lead over McCain by a margin of 48 to 43 percent. Other national polls in recent days put Obama ahead of McCain by margins¹⁵ of anywhere from three to eight percentage points.

1 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

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 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

4 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

5 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

6 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 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。

9 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

10 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。

11 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

12 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

13 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。

14 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。

15 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。