Republicans Ready for Tuesday's Convention Open

 TAMPA, Florida — Members of the Republican Party are gathering¹ in Tampa, Florida amid the threat of bad weather for their week-long U.S. presidential nominating convention.  Convention organizers have canceled their Monday program because of the approach of Tropical Storm Issac and hope to get down to business on Tuesday. 

Security officers were out in force as delegates, visitors and members of the news media arrived in droves at Tampa International Airport.

But the main concern is the weather threat posed by Isaac.  The storm is expected to pass to the west of Tampa on Monday.  And organizers were concerned that the heavy rain and high winds predicted for the area could complicate² efforts to get delegates and visitors to the convention hall.

Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus spoke³ Sunday on the CBS television program Face the Nation.

“Obviously, you can’t be assured what would happen on Monday if you had a full arena⁴ and then couldn’t get people out of here," he said. "So it’s an obvious choice - safety first.”

Convention officials say they hope the storm will stay far to the west of Tampa as it moves through the Gulf⁵ of Mexico, enabling them to open their national nominating convention on Tuesday.

The convention will build to a climax⁶ later in the week when Republicans will formally nominate former Massachusetts Governor Mitt⁷ Romney as their presidential candidate to face President Barack Obama.  They will also nominate Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan as Romney's vice⁸ presidential running mate.  Ryan is scheduled to give his acceptance speech on Wednesday.

Romney will have his moment in the spotlight⁹ on Thursday when an estimated 30 to 40 million people will be watching on national television.

Romney has made President Obama’s handling of the economy a key issue in this year’s election.  But political experts say Romney's acceptance speech will be a key moment in the campaign as he seeks to make a personal connection with voters.

“Well, what Romney needs to do is to make voters who think he is not their guy to reevaluate and say, 'Well, I ought to take a second look at him.'  And conventions offer that opportunity," said  Peter Brown, who is with the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.  "The entire convention will be focused on Romney, his family, his values and his history. ”

The list of convention speakers for Tuesday’s opening session include Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, and New Jersey¹⁰ Governor Chris Christie.  Christie is a favorite of conservatives because of his blunt speaking style.  He will deliver the convention keynote speech, the address that will lay out the Republican Party's themes for the week.

In the past, political conventions of both major parties - the Democrats¹¹ and the Republicans - typically chose their presidential candidates.  But in recent decades, the conventions have become more scripted, designed to build support for their respective presidential nominees¹².

Candidates hope to benefit from what is called a post-convention "bounce" in public opinion surveys that could help them in the final weeks of the campaign leading up to Election Day in November.

“Romney wants an enthusiastic convention," said Norman Ornstein, a political analyst¹³ with the Washington D.C.-based American Enterprise Institute.  "He wants to have a sense that people are excited about him, which has been a real problem for him up to now.”

A convention boost for Romney could be important this year because public opinion polls show the race is very close.  The Democrats will meet next week in Charlotte, North Carolina to hold their convention and nominate President Obama for a second four-year term.

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

5 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

6 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

7 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。

8 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。

9 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

10 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

11 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》

12 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

13 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。