VOA常速英语2008年-Obama Adviser Resigns After Calling Clinton a M

By Jim Malone
Washington
07 March 2008

A top foreign policy adviser¹ to Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama resigned Friday after she referred to rival Hillary Clinton as a monster.  VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has the latest on an increasingly bitter campaign for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination².

Samantha Power is a foreign policy expert and a professor at Harvard University in Masschusetts.

Power had been advising Barack Obama, but quit on Friday after a Scottish newspaper quoted her as describing Hillary Clinton as a monster.

In her resignation statement, Power expressed regret for her comment and said she had often expressed admiration³ for Senator Clinton in the past.

Power's comment came to light after a top aide to Senator Clinton, Howard Wolfson, compared Senator Obama to Ken⁴ Starr, the special prosecutor⁵ who carried out a lengthy⁶ and controversial investigation⁷ of the Clinton White House during the 1990s.  That comment offended some Obama supporters.

The increasingly negative tone of the campaign comes as Clinton attempts to portray⁸ Obama as too inexperienced in foreign policy and national security matters. 

"National security will be front and center in this election," she said.  "We all know that.  And I think it is imperative⁹ that each of us demonstrate that we can cross the commander in chief threshold."

Obama continues to hold a delegate lead of about 100 over Clinton, despite Clinton winning three of four primaries last Tuesday, including the large states of Ohio and Texas.

Obama told ABC News his campaign may be more aggressive in responding to the Clinton attacks.  He also said the message of his three losses on Tuesday may be that he needs to work harder in the upcoming primary and caucus¹⁰ contests.

"People started saying, well, maybe we want this to continue a little further," he said.  "They want me to earn this thing and not feel as if I am just sliding into it."

Wyoming holds a Democratic caucus on Saturday and Mississippi holds a primary on Tuesday.  But the next big battle looming¹¹ is the Pennsylvania primary on April 22.  Clinton is favored in Pennsylvania, but a new poll shows Obama has cut into her lead there.

Meanwhile, the presumptive Republican nominee¹², Senator John McCain of Arizona, is focused on unifying¹³ his party and beginning the process of choosing a vice¹⁴ presidential running mate.

McCain campaigned in Georgia Friday and reminded his audience that his support for the military surge policy in Iraq stands in sharp contrast to the troop withdrawal¹⁵ plans put forward by Obama and Clinton.

"My Democratic friends said they want to set a date for withdrawal.  That is a date for surrender," he said.  "That is date where al-Qaida would announce they have defeated the United States of America."

McCain also told supporters that tax cuts and job retraining are keys to bolstering¹⁶ the weakening U.S. economy.  Concern over the economy now ranks as the number one issue for U.S. voters in the campaign.

1 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

2 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。

3 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

4 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

5 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

6 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。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

9 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

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 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

12 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。

13 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

14 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。

15 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

16 bolstering   

v.支持( bolster的现在分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• Why should Donahue's people concern themselves with bolstering your image? 唐纳休的人为什么要费心维护你的形象？ 来自辞典例句
• He needed bolstering and support. 他需要别人助他一臂之力。 来自辞典例句