VOA常速英语2008年-US Presidential Contenders Will Be Center-Stage

By Jim Malone
Washington
07 April 2008

The war in Iraq is once again center-stage in the U.S. presidential election campaign. All three major contenders will be in Washington Tuesday for the congressional testimony¹ of the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington.

On the eve of congressional hearings on Iraq, the presumed Republican presidential nominee², Senator John McCain, accused his Democratic rivals of making what he called reckless promises about a speedy withdrawal³ of U.S. troops.

Democrats⁴ Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have both proposed a phased withdrawal from Iraq if elected. Obama, Clinton and McCain will all be in attendance Tuesday when two Senate committees hear from General Petraeus.

McCain told a veteran's convention in Kansas City that the United States is no longer staring into what he called the "abyss of defeat" in Iraq, and that security improvements offer the genuine prospect⁵ of success.

"Our goal is an Iraq that no longer needs American troops," said McCain. "And I believe we can achieve that goal, perhaps sooner than many imagine. But I do not believe that anyone should make promises as a candidate for president that they cannot keep if elected. To promise a withdrawal of our forces from Iraq, regardless of the calamitous⁶ consequences to the Iraqi people, our most vital interests and the future of the Middle East is the height of irresponsibility. It is a failure of leadership."

In response, Obama said McCain was wrong about the Iraq war from the beginning. Obama also said that an open-ended occupation of Iraq had badly strained the U.S. military and had made the United States less safe.

Obama has been making similar arguments in recent days at campaign events where he has been explaining his troop withdrawal plan.

"We are going to bring one to two brigades out per month," he said. "That is a very careful pace designed to keep our soldiers safe, but also to ensure that you do not have complete chaos⁷ in Iraq. At that pace, it will take about 16 months to get all our combat troops out."

Senator Clinton has also signaled a major shift in direction in Iraq if elected, including a promise to begin a phased withdrawal of U.S. forces within 60 days of her inauguration⁸.

"I believe with all my heart that the American military has done everything they could do," she said. "They have given the Iraqi people the greatest gift of freedom, and now it is up to the Iraqis to decide whether or not they can use it and be responsible going forward."

Clinton and Obama are engaged in a close fight for the Democratic presidential nomination⁹ that is now focused on the Pennsylvania primary on April 22.

Obama holds a slight lead in the delegate count, but Clinton has vowed¹⁰ to fight on in the remaining 10 primaries.

But the Clinton campaign has announced that it will do so without longtime political strategist and pollster Mark Penn. Penn has given up most of his campaign duties after it was disclosed that he met with officials of the Colombian government to lobby for a free trade agreement that Clinton opposes.

Penn attended the meeting in his position as head of a public relations firm promoting the free trade deal. Penn apologized after the meeting was disclosed for what he called an error in judgment¹¹.

1 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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》

5 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

6 calamitous   

adj.灾难的，悲惨的；多灾多难；惨重

参考例句：

• We are exposed to the most calamitous accidents. 我们遭受着极大的灾难。 来自辞典例句
• Light reveals the subtle alteration of things, the sly or calamitous impermanence or mortal life. 事物的细微变动，人生的狡猾，倏忽无常，一一都在光中显露出来。 来自辞典例句

7 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

8 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

9 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。

10 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

11 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。