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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
When you consider his background, Joe Biden is not unique among past presidents. But perhaps that is why he won the election in November. It was his third try.
Biden first ran for president in 1988, looking to become the Democratic party's nominee1 at the end of Ronald Reagan's two terms in office. He did not get the nomination2.
He then ran again in 2008, as the Democrats3 looked for a candidate to go up against the Republicans after George W. Bush's two terms in office.
During the primaries, he did not get enough support. Barack Obama eventually became the nominee and chose Biden as his running mate in the race against John McCain.
The Obama-Biden team won the election, and Biden became Vice4 President for eight years.
He chose not to run for president at the end of Obama's term. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump5 were the candidates at the end of 2016.
In 2019, Biden announced his plans to run for the Democratic nomination for a third time. This time, he won, and faced off against Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
When Biden earned enough electoral college votes, he became President-elect of the United States. While this officially happened on December 14, 2020, many news organizations had called the race for Biden days after the November 3 vote.
Biden's inauguration6 is January 20. He will take the oath of office at noon.
When Biden repeats the oath with U.S. Supreme7 Court Chief Justice John Roberts, he will join a very limited group of men to ever win the presidency8.
To be part of such a group is unique. But among presidents, Biden is only unique in a few areas.
At 78, he will be the oldest man to take the oath of office. Donald Trump, at 70, had been the oldest. Twenty-five past presidents have been in their 50s.
Biden will only be the second Catholic to take the office. John F. Kennedy was the first.
Biden was born in Pennsylvania. But he started his political career in Delaware and is the first president to come from that state.
Only 19 states can claim a president. New York state has the most, with seven.
On paper, that is about all of Biden's presidential "uniqueness."
Biden has a law degree, which means he is not unique among presidents. Twenty-six other American presidents were lawyers.
At 183 centimeters, Biden is not especially tall. In fact, eight presidents have been that height.
Biden was formerly9 a member of congress, as a senator from Delaware. He served for 36 years. Twenty-five other congressmen became president.
Biden, however, was a young senator. He won his election at just 29. He was the sixth youngest.
Biden was Obama's vice president. Fifteen presidents were once the VP.
Perhaps some Americans might consider Biden "plain." Some political experts think that is why he won the election against the more flamboyant10 Trump.
Julie Pace is the Washington bureau chief for the Associated Press. In a November story published when it looked like Biden would become the president, she wrote about the campaign. She said Trump was not easily able to attack Biden.
She said Biden was not the most compelling speaker with the best ideas. But he was a good candidate because he made a favorable impression on Americans as vice president.
In fact, she wrote, for a plain candidate, what made Biden unique and earned him the most votes ever in a presidential election was that he was not Donald Trump.
At one point, it was not even clear that Biden wanted to run for president. But Pace credited Trump with helping11 Biden win.
"It was Trump who pulled him back into the arena12, who gave his campaign a sense of purpose. It is Trump who helped him win," she said.
Words in This Story
unique- adj. used to say that something or someone is unlike anything or anyone else
primary- n. an election in which members of the same political party run against each other for the chance to be in a larger and more important election
oath- n. a formal and serious promise to tell the truth or to do something
plain- adj. not unusual or special in any way
flamboyant- adj. having a very noticeable quality that attracts a lot of attention
compelling- adj. very interesting : able to capture and hold your attention
impression- n. the effect or influence that something or someone has on a person's thoughts or feelings
arena- n. involved in politics, government, etc.
1 nominee | |
n.被提名者;被任命者;被推荐者 | |
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2 nomination | |
n.提名,任命,提名权 | |
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3 democrats | |
n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 ) | |
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4 vice | |
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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5 trump | |
n.王牌,法宝;v.打出王牌,吹喇叭 | |
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6 inauguration | |
n.开幕、就职典礼 | |
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7 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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8 presidency | |
n.总统(校长,总经理)的职位(任期) | |
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9 formerly | |
adv.从前,以前 | |
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10 flamboyant | |
adj.火焰般的,华丽的,炫耀的 | |
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11 helping | |
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的 | |
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12 arena | |
n.竞技场,运动场所;竞争场所,舞台 | |
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