VOA标准英语2011--US Republican Presidential Candidates Tackle Foreign Policy Issues

 US Republican Presidential Candidates Tackle Foreign Policy Issues

Republican candidates who want to replace President Barack Obama sparred in Washington Tuesday night in one of the few televised debates centered on foreign policy issues.
The candidates gathered just a few blocks away from the White House - where they each hope to spend the next four years.

Two former governors - Jon Huntsman of Utah and Mitt¹ Romney of Massachusetts - clashed over Afghanistan.

First, Romney asked Hunstman, "Are you suggesting, governor that we just take all our troops out next week? What's your proposal?"

"Did you hear what I just said? I said, 'We should draw down from 100,000.' We don't need 100,000 troops," said Hunstman. "We don't need 100,000 troops, many of whom can't even cross the wire [engage the enemy]."

But the Heritage Foundation's Jim Carafano says global issues will change before any of these candidates can become president.

"The most important thing in the debate is listening less to say 'What would I do if I were president today' - which is irrelevant² - to what kind of character do they have," said Carafano. "What kind of commander-in-chief they are going to be. Are they going to put what's right over what's easy."

A current governor, Rick Perry of Texas, explained how he would handle Iran if elected president:

"When you sanction the Iranian Central Bank, that will shut down that economy," said Perry. "At that particular time, they truly have to deal with the United States."

But what about American allies in Europe that depend on Iranian oil?

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said, "We ought to have a massive, all sources energy program in the United States designed to once again create a surplus of energy here," said Gingrich. "So we could say to the Europeans, pretty cheerfully, that with all the various sources of oil we have in the United States we could literally³ replace the Iranian oil."

The Republican candidates criticized current U.S. foreign policy, even though opinion surveys show it is President Barack Obama's strength.

"There's going to be a referendum on that on how well it's worked," said James Carafano. "I think what's important is people have to distinguish what that is and how what they want to do is different than that. And, I don't think I heard that yet from any of these candidates."

In six weeks, the Republican candidates will face their toughest test yet. The Iowa caucuses⁴ are the first major event leading up to selection of the Republican presidential nominee⁵.

1 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

2 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

3 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

4 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

5 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。