VOA标准英语2011--Cain Reassesses US Presidential Bid, Gingrich Rises in Polls

Cain Reassesses US Presidential Bid, Gingrich Rises in Polls

 

In U.S. presidential politics, the focus is on Republican White House contender Herman Cain. Cain says he is reassessing his campaign in the wake of allegations of an extramarital affair, which Cain denies. Meanwhile, the Republican field is looking more like a showdown between former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt¹ Romney.

A day after Cain told aides that he is reassessing his presidential bid, the Georgia businessman appeared defiant² at a campaign stop in the Midwestern state of Ohio.

“The voice of the people is more powerful than the voice of the media," said Cain.

Cain is denying allegations of an extramarital affair with Ginger³ White, who told ABC television's Good Morning America program that she was involved with Cain on and off during a 13-year period.

“It was a very casual affair," said White. "I’ve received gifts and money for the last 2.5 years consistently. This was not sex for cash.”

The allegation of an affair comes in the wake of sexual harassment⁴ allegations leveled at Cain by four women a few weeks ago, which led to a loss of support in public opinion surveys.

Republican presidential candidate, Herman Cain makes a point during a speech at a campaign rally, in Dayton, Ohio, November 30, 2011.

The Republican contender who is gaining at the moment is former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who leads the eight person nomination⁵ race in several national public opinion polls.

“I don’t claim to be the perfect candidate," said Gingrich. "I just claim to be a lot more conservative than Mitt Romney and a lot more electable than anybody else.”

Cain’s drop in the polls seems to have helped Gingrich, who has emerged as the main alternative to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Romney has long been considered the frontrunner in the Republican race, and he continues to focus most of his attention on President Barack Obama, as he did at a campaign stop in the Southern state of Florida.

“President Obama is a nice guy," said Romney. "But I don’t think he understands America. I don’t think he understands our economy. I don’t think he understands the power of free people, free to choose their course in life.”

Political strategist Matthew Dowd, an analyst⁶ for ABC News, sees the Republican race evolving into a two-man field.

“I think right now that anti-Romney vote is coalesced⁷ around the former speaker," said Dowd. "I think more of these votes go to Newt Gingrich, and I think Newt Gingrich is a force that Mitt Romney has to reckon with.”

Analyst Stuart Rothenberg, publisher of The Rothenberg Political Report, says Mitt Romney’s main challenge remains⁸ winning over Republican voters who doubt he is a true conservative.

“The one thing that is consistent is that Mitt Romney is in the top tier, that Mitt Romney appeals to about one-quarter of all Republicans and that he has built a large, established, experienced, national presidential campaign," said Rothenberg. "Whether that will be enough to get the nomination, we don’t yet know.”

The first test of the 2012 Republican race is less than five weeks away, when voters in the Midwestern state of Iowa hold caucus⁹ meetings on January 3 to express their preferences in the eight-candidate Republican field.

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 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

3 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

4 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

5 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。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 coalesced   

v.联合，合并( coalesce的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The puddles had coalesced into a small stream. 地面上水洼子里的水汇流成了一条小溪。
• The views of party leaders coalesced to form a coherent policy. 党的领导人的各种观点已统一为一致的政策。 来自辞典例句

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 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。