2007年VOA标准英语-US Democrats Vow to Keep Pressure on President

By Jim Malone
Washington
23 May 2007

Democrats¹ in Congress backed down this week from their long-standing² demand to set a date for the withdrawal³ of U.S. troops from Iraq. In the short term, the decision is a political setback⁴ for Democrats and a victory for President Bush and his Republican supporters in Congress. But the long-term impact of the Iraq war on U.S. politics remains⁵ very unpredictable, as we hear from VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone.

The Democrats gave up on their attempt to include a troop withdrawal deadline in a military spending bill, after it became clear they simply could not muster⁶ enough support to withstand another presidential veto.

President Bush made a fresh appeal for support on his Iraq strategy during a commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut.

"Al-Qaida is public enemy number one for Iraq's young democracy. Al-Qaida is public enemy number one for America as well, and that is why we must support our troops, we must support the Iraqi government and we must defeat al-Qaida in Iraq," Mr. Bush said.

Democrats are disappointed they had to drop their demand for a troop withdrawal deadline, something they promised their supporters after winning back control of both houses of Congress in last November's midterm congressional elections.

But Democrats also believe they won a partial victory by insisting on the inclusion of political benchmarks in the spending bill that the Iraqi government must meet or risk losing some U.S. reconstruction⁷ aid.

"It ends the blank check on more troops, more money, more time and more of the same and it begins the notion that we have to have a new direction to Iraq," said Democratic Congressman⁸ Rahm Emanuel of Illinois.

Democrats in Congress vowed⁹ to keep the pressure on the Bush administration in the months ahead. But some of the Democratic presidential contenders said their Democratic colleagues in Congress gave up on the troop withdrawal deadline too quickly.

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John Edwards answers questions in Summit, New Jersey, 22 May 2007

Former senator and now Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards favors a pullout of U.S. forces from Iraq within one year. He was interviewed on NBC's Today program.

"The Democrats should be standing their ground," said Edwards. "I mean, the American people said very clearly in the last election that they wanted to see a different course in Iraq."

Even some Republicans acknowledge the president's victory on resisting a troop withdrawal deadline mandated¹¹ by Congress may be short-lived.

Lawmakers from both parties said they will pay close attention to an administration status report on Iraq in September to see if the troop surge is working.

Among them is Republican Senator John Warner of Virginia, who had a message for the Iraqi government.

"We are not there forever. We are there to help you so long as you, as a sovereign nation, pull your own weight and do your responsible job," he said.

Political experts say Democrats backed down on the troop withdrawal deadline, in part, because they did not want to be portrayed¹² by Republicans as withholding¹³ support for U.S. troops in the field.

"Allegedly, Democrats are soft on national security. So I think a lot of Democrats, especially older Democrats in Congress, worry about being tagged yet again with being soft on America [security], soft on the Pentagon, soft on doing the right thing," said Tom DeFrank, Washington bureau chief for the New York Daily News.

But analysts¹⁴ also warn that Republicans are likely to pay a political price if the war and resulting U.S. casualties carry into the 2008 presidential election year.

Congressional Quarterly expert Craig Crawford says public dissatisfaction with the president's handling of Iraq has eroded¹⁵ the Republican Party's traditional political advantage on national security issues.

"I think Republicans have lost their competency lead in managing national security. And this is a change. Ever since the Vietnam war, Democrats have lost that edge on national security and defense¹⁶ that I think they are able to regain¹⁷, somewhat by default, because the Iraq war seems so incompetent," he said.

Some Republican political strategists are worried that Iraq will hurt them, not only in the presidential campaign next year, but their efforts to win back control of Congress as well.

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 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。

3 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。

4 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

7 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

8 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

9 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

10 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。

11 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

12 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

14 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

15 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

16 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

17 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。