2006年VOA标准英语-US Presidential Contenders Active for 2008

By Jim Malone
Washington
21 March 2006

The 2008 presidential election is more than two years away, but that has not stopped several potential candidates from testing the political waters.

It is possible you have never heard of Mark Warner.  He is the former governor of Virginia and one of several Democrats¹ considering a run for the White House in 2008.

Warner recently traveled to the northeastern state of New Hampshire, which will host the first presidential primary early in 2008.

Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner, left, greets Muriel K. Offerman  
  
"And one of our challenges as a people and as a country is to make sure that everyone gets their own fair shot at their own version of the American Dream, and getting that chance ought to be more important than who your parents are, what race you are or where you worship," said Warner.

There are plenty of Republicans already thinking about 2008 as well.  President Bush cannot seek a third term by law and Vice² President Dick Cheney says he will not be a candidate, so that leaves a wide-open field of potential contenders that includes Massachusetts Governor Mitt³ Romney.

Governor Romney recently spoke⁴ to an audience in Michigan, where his father, George, was governor in the 1960s.

Like many potential candidates for 2008, Romney hopes to convince voters that he can handle the presidential demands of leading the war on terror. 

 
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
  
"Thank heavens we have a President of the United States who recognizes the degree of the threat we face and is willing to take the action necessary to protect us and thank heavens we have the most courageous⁵ and committed military soldiers in the entire world," said Romney.

Several other potential candidates, Democrats and Republicans alike, are also making trips to New Hampshire and another early contest state, Iowa, which hosts the first presidential caucus⁶ vote.

Political analyst⁷ Stuart Rothenberg says the early activity is not unusual two years before a presidential election year. 

"The imperative⁸ for fundraising, the necessity for long shots or underdogs to start early, encourages early starts," he noted⁹.  "And if one guy starts early, everyone wants to start early.  So, the system really is encouraging these early starts."

Another analyst, Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report, says this will be the first presidential election since 1952 that will not have either an incumbent¹⁰ president or vice president in the field of potential candidates.

Senator Hillary Clinton  
  
"What we do know is that this race is going to start very early, because there is no heir apparent, there is no obvious frontrunner," she noted.  "Usually, you have on both sides either a sitting vice president or a president or somebody who has been tapped as the obvious frontrunner.  That is not the case today.  So what we are going to see is a real free for all here on both sides and it is going to make for a dynamic 2008."

Some early public opinion polls suggest Senator Hillary Clinton is leading the pack on the Democratic side, while Senator John McCain is the top choice among Republicans.

But expert Amy Walter notes that early polls and predictions are often wrong.

"The field is still very wide," she added.  "We know from history that trying to determine who the nominee¹¹ is going to be this far out is a very dangerous game.  In fact, we probably will not even know all the names of the people in the field by the time we hit 2007, 2008."

 
Senator John McCain 
  
Many experts predict that Iraq and the war on terror will be pivotal issues in the 2008 election campaign.

But analyst Stuart Rothenberg says voters often make a basic calculation in presidential election years.

"I think we are going to hear an awful lot about reform, open government, transparent¹² government," said Rothenberg.  "And most presidential elections, frankly¹³, turn out to be about change or the status quo.  Do you like the direction of the country or do you want to change it?  And if you want to change it, how do you want to change it?"

Other Democrats who have interest in 2008 include Senators John Kerry of Massachusetts, Joe Biden of Delaware, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Evan Bayh of Indiana and former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina.  In addition, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and retired¹⁴ General Wesley Clark may be considering a run.

On the Republican side other potential candidates include Senators Bill Frist of Tennessee, George Allen of Virginia, Sam Brownback of Kansas and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.  Others who may be mulling a run for the White House include former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani, as well as Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and New York Governor George Pataki.

1 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》

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

6 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。

7 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。

8 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

9 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。

10 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。

11 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

12 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

13 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。

14 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。