美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden will address House Democrats as they plot midterm strategy in Philadelphia

Biden will address House Democrats² as they plot midterm strategy in Philadelphia

Transcript³

President Biden on Friday speaks to House Democrats at their retreat in Philadelphia — as the party plans its message for the midterm elections.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

A Democrat¹ who is not on the ballot⁴ this fall has a lot to do with the fate of Democrats who are. President Biden's party faces midterm elections when the party in power often, although not always, does poorly. Last night, the president gave Democrats some encouragement.

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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Coming out of the State of the Union, we are the strongest position we've been in in months. We have a record, a record to be proud of.

INSKEEP: Today, the president meets with House Democrats, who are in Philadelphia planning for November. NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson is here. Mara, good morning.

MARA LIASSON, BYLINE⁵: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: How much trouble do the Democrats think they're in?

LIASSON: Well, there are a lot of trouble. As you said, the party in power usually loses big in the first midterm election. There are a lot of fundamentals that are working against the Democrats - the way people feel about the economy, the president's approval ratings, the enthusiasm of the other party - so they have lots to worry about. But many Democrats are feeling that after a long time when they thought the White House political operation was lacking, there was no clear message, they feel that the White House is finally cranking into gear, starting with the State of the Union address, which is what you heard Biden say. And he got a pretty good reception at the DNC yesterday.

INSKEEP: What does it mean to crank into gear? What's Biden doing differently?

LIASSON: Well, he's - I think it's a shift in emphasis. I think you see Biden trying to regain⁶ his brand as a unifying⁷ figure who can competently govern. He'd kind of lost the plot when COVID didn't get under control when he said it would last summer. His own party couldn't pass his agenda in Congress. Now he talks about a unity⁸ agenda. He talks about things like helping⁹ veterans, funding cancer research, legislation to make America more competitive with China. He still has the same positions on things like climate change and voting rights, but the emphasis is a little different.

INSKEEP: Well, what are the Democrats' biggest challenges in trying to make sure that they beat history, not every single midterm but most midterms?

LIASSON: Well, inflation is the biggest hurdle¹⁰. And of course, we got a terrible inflation report again yesterday. There's not a lot that presidents can do about inflation. But Democrats are hopeful that the Russian invasion of Ukraine will help them reset¹¹ the politics around inflation, the debate around inflation. You hear Biden talking about Putin's price hike at the gas pump. Of course, Republicans say, well, prices were already rising before Russia invaded Ukraine, and it's all Biden's fault. But Democrats think that they point to basically several polls, including NPR's poll, that show Biden's approval rating inching up. They see Democrats coming home, independents giving him a second look, and that's why he's getting a little bump in his overall job approval ratings.

INSKEEP: Well, let's figure out how the war in Ukraine really affects this. You noted¹² that gas prices are going up. They were - in fact, it's true. They were going up before the Russian invasion. But the Russian invasion has made things worse. There's a connection there. But there are other things happening here. This is suddenly a wartime situation. The United States is not at war, but it feels like the world is at war. If people are not really exactly rallying around the American flag because American troops are not in harm's way, are they rallying around the Ukrainian flag and therefore behind the American president?

LIASSON: Absolutely. Biden is a wartime president. He got a bump from the State of the Union address because the first part of it was all about Ukraine. That's the part that most people watch. He has Putin as a foil. He's the leader of the free world, and for now, the free world is rallying with him against Russia. There's bipartisan support in Congress for his policies to Russia. The Ukraine conflict gives him a chance to regain credibility on foreign policy that he had damaged with the chaotic¹³ withdrawal¹⁴ from Afghanistan.

INSKEEP: Yeah. Well, when you look at all that, do Democrats think they can beat the odds¹⁵?

LIASSON: Well, look, historical rules work till they stop working. But yes, Democrats think they finally have a strategy for surviving the midterms. That would mean hanging on to the Senate and limiting their losses in the House, not necessarily keeping the majority. And it's basically talking about their accomplishments¹⁶, empathizing with people's problems with inflation, defining their opponents as too extreme. And that's what they're going to try to do.

INSKEEP: Mara, thanks very much, really appreciate it.

LIASSON: Thank you.

INSKEEP: That's NPR's Mara Liasson.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 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》

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

7 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。

8 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

11 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

14 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。

15 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

16 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》