VOA慢速英语2015 希拉里?克林顿宣布参加2016年的总统竞选

Hillary Clinton Announces 2016 Campaign for President 希拉里?克林顿宣布参加2016年的总统竞选

“I’m running for president.” Hillary Clinton kicks off her anticipated campaign for the presidency² with a video posted on YouTube.

With her second run for the White House, the former first lady and Secretary of State is hoping to become the first female president of the United States. In the campaign video, she says, “Everyday Americans need a champion. I want to be that champion.”

Ms. Clinton is expected to visit the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire shortly with a message of economic equality. She says, “So I’m hitting the road to earn your vote. Because it’s your time. And I hope you’ll join me in this journey.”

Ms. Clinton enters the 2016 presidential campaign as a favorite to win the Democratic nomination⁴. Former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and former Senator Jim Webb of Virginia are potential rivals, but neither has received much in the way of campaign contributions or support from the party.

Charlie Cook of the Cook Political Report said, “In some way, Hillary is running against herself. She’s got to show herself relevant in the 21st century.”

However the road to victory for Ms. Clinton will not be easy.

Republican challenges ahead

On the Republican side, Senators Ted¹ Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky have already announced their candidacy.

There are many more Republicans getting ready to challenge Ms. Clinton. They include former Governor Jeb Bush and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey⁵, and former Governor Rick Perry of Texas. Even former business executive Carly Fiorina said that she is “seriously considering running.”

Facing a generation gap

Ms. Clinton has been a well-known figure in American politics for more than two decades since her husband, Bill Clinton, was elected to the White House in 1992. As first lady, Ms. Clinton led the failed effort to provide national health care. She later won an election to represent New York as a U.S. Senator prior to becoming Secretary of State.

Political analyst⁶ Stuart Rothenberg feels Ms. Clinton’s negative is her age. She’s 67 and would be close to 70 if she were to take the presidency. Her announcement on YouTube is an attempt to reach out to young voters. Mr. Rothenberg noted⁷, “We are a country and a culture these days where 15 minutes ago is ancient history, and voters always want something new and fresh.”

During an appearance on ABC’s This Week, former Governor O’Malley emphasized this point saying, “the presidency of the United States is not some crown to be passed between two families."

Surrounded with controversy⁸

Ms. Clinton once famously said that her family was a target of the so-called “vast right-wing conspiracy⁹.”

A recent Congressional inquiry¹⁰ on Benghazi, Libya revealed that Ms. Clinton used a private email server to conduct government business as Secretary of State. Ms. Clinton insisted that she did not violate any rules by using the private email, but Republicans were quick to denounce the practice. Senator Rubio of Florida said that, “If there was anything in those emails that was sensitive in nature, not just classified, God forbid, even sensitive, I think it puts national security at risk.” Senator Rubio is planning to announce his own run for the White House later this week.

The Clinton Global Initiative is a philanthropic foundation established by the former president and his family to improve the lives of people around the world. The foundation has accepted donations from foreign countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Australia, Norway and the Netherlands.

Republican Senator Rand Paul, an announced candidate for the White House, criticized the foreign donations. In an interview with Politico, he said, “In countries that stone people to death for adultery and imprison¹¹ people for adultery, this is the kind of thing you would think someone for women’s rights would be standing¹² up against, instead of accepting thinly veiled bribes¹³.”

Clinton possesses advantages

Ms. Clinton possesses some advantages over other candidates in the campaign for the presidency. “She’s got experience, both domestic and foreign policy,” political analyst Stuart Rothenberg said. “She got rave¹⁴ reviews in terms of her energy and her enthusiasm in the work she did as Secretary of State, and that’s a plus. Frankly¹⁵, she’s a woman, and that’s a huge asset.”

Despite the email and foreign donations controversy, the former Secretary of State still leads all potential rivals according to the Washington Post-ABC News poll taken at the end of March.

Professor Larry Sabato, of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, said that the early polls are “worthless.” He added “it’s impossible to project a general election for president yet. That depends on events that haven’t happened, that depends on how popular or unpopular President Obama, the incumbent¹⁶ Democrat³ is in the fall of 2016. It depends on where the economy is. It depends on whether we are in a hot war or not. There are too many unknowns for anyone to project the 2016 election, that is anyone who has any sense.”

When Ms. Clinton ran for the presidency in 2008, she led then-Senator Obama by as many as 33 points in the same poll.

Words in This Story

favorite – n. a person most likely to win

rivals – n. something or someone that is as good or almost as good as another person or thing

conspiracy – n. a secret plan made by two or more people to do something that is harmful or illegal

inquiry – n. an official effort to collect and examine information about something

incumbent – n. a person who holds a particular office or position

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

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 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。

8 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

9 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

10 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

11 imprison   

vt.监禁，关押，限制，束缚

参考例句：

• The effect of this one is going to imprison you for life.而这件事的影响力则会让你被终身监禁。
• Dutch colonial authorities imprisoned him for his part in the independence movement.荷兰殖民当局因他参加独立运动而把他关押了起来。

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

14 rave   

vi.胡言乱语；热衷谈论；n.热情赞扬

参考例句：

• The drunkard began to rave again.这酒鬼又开始胡言乱语了。
• Now I understand why readers rave about this book.我现明白读者为何对这本书赞不绝口了。

15 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

16 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。