VOA常速英语2007年-Year-Long Campaign for US President Approaches

By Jim Fry
Washington
18 December 2007
 

It has only happened twice in the last century in the race for president of the United States. There are no sitting or past presidents or vice¹ presidents running for either of the two major political party nominations³. 2007 was the first time a woman and an African American emerged as frontrunners for either major political party. And for the first time, candidates began campaigning in earnest nearly a full year before anybody would vote in the nomination² contests.VOA's Jim Fry reviews the major trends in the race in the past year.

In a year of firsts, a candidate declares on the Internet: "I announce today that I am forming a presidential exploratory committee," said Sen. Hillary Clinton, a Democratic presidential candidate.

Senator Clinton leads most polls of Democratic Party voters as the first woman that experts say could win the presidency⁶. And there is the first African American considered electable.

Senator Barak Obama, also is a Democrat⁵. While campaigning he remarked, "Let's be the generation that makes future generations proud of what we did here."

New Mexico's Democratic governor, Bill Richardson, is seeking to become the first American president of Hispanic descent, but he spent the year far behind the leaders.

The campaigns for U.S. president picked up their pace nearly a full year before voting in the first primary election.

Among Republicans, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt⁴ Romney hopes to capitalize on his home state's proximity⁷ to New Hampshire -- the first state to hold a primary election.

Senator John McCain of Arizona, as the early frontrunner, announced his intentions in April at the Portsmouth, Massachusetts naval⁸ shipyard.

By July, McCain plummeted⁹ in the polls, his campaign nearly out of money and key staff members jumping ship. The candidate blamed himself. He says, "You take responsibility when you're in charge."

McCain admits his support for the Iraq war and for legalizing some immigrants hurt his chances. Border security and illegal immigration is the top issue among Republicans.

Rudy Giuliani was the New York mayor the day terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center in 2001. He touts¹⁰ a tough line and took an early lead in national polls. "The most important thing to do is to make certain we remain on offense¹¹ against Islamic terrorism," said Giuliani.

The Iraq war was the Democrats¹²' biggest issue early in the year.

Sen. Clinton says she regrets voting for it. "Knowing what I know now, I would never have voted for it."

In March, one of the leading Democrats, former Senator John Edwards and his wife announced they will continue campaigning despite the recurrence¹³ of Elizabeth Edwards' cancer. "We will be in this every step of the way, together," he said.

In September, an actor and former senator, Fred Thompson, jumped into the Republican contest but failed to take the lead in any polls.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, one of the long shots, shot to the top among Republicans in Iowa.

The Baptist minister aims his appeal at an important segment of the Republican electorate¹⁴ --- religious conservatives.

Huckabee preached at a Texas church and collected an endorsement¹⁵ from a like-minded minister. "He is one of us. He is not one who has come from outside to us."

Romney, once the frontrunner in Iowa, in a December speech defended his Mormon religion, in the face of polls showing a quarter of Americans would not vote for a Mormon.

"Let me assure you that no authorities of my church or any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions," Romney said.

The unsettled field of Republican and Democratic presidential candidates will be tested first in the Iowa caucuses¹⁶ January 3, and the following week in the New Hampshire primary election.

1 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。

2 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。

3 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

8 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

9 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 touts   

n.招徕( tout的名词复数 )；（音乐会、体育比赛等的）卖高价票的人；侦查者；探听赛马的情报v.兜售( tout的第三人称单数 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• Many vouchers are returned for cash, allowing touts and middle men to make a healthy margin. 许多月饼券都被兑换成现金，这让券贩子和中间商赚取了不蜚的利润。 来自互联网
• Spotting prey, the customary crowd of hustlers and touts swarmed around, jostling for my business. 照例有大群的拉客黄牛在寻觅猎物，他们争相过来抢我的生意。 来自互联网

11 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

12 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》

13 recurrence   

n.复发，反复，重现

参考例句：

• More care in the future will prevent recurrence of the mistake.将来的小心可防止错误的重现。
• He was aware of the possibility of a recurrence of his illness.他知道他的病有可能复发。

14 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

15 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

16 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网