2007年VOA标准英语-US Democratic Presidential Contenders Clash Ove

By Jim Malone
Washington
09 August 2007

Debate over foreign policy and how best to wage the war on terror continues to dominate the early stage of the 2008 U.S. presidential election campaign.  VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.

Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, delivers a speech about terrorism, 01 Aug 2007

Debate among the eight Democrats¹ seeking the White House next year is intensifying² in the wake of comments from Senator Barack Obama of Illinois that he would be willing to go after terrorists taking refuge in Pakistan even if the Pakistani government did not give its permission.

In the latest Democratic candidates forum³ in Chicago, Senators Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Hillary Clinton of New York criticized Obama's recent statements on Pakistan.

"You can think big but remember, you should not always say everything you think if you are running for president, because it can have consequences across the world and we do not need that right now," she said.

Despite the criticism from his fellow Democrats, Senator Obama did not back down and said his critics should be subject to similar scrutiny⁴ for initially⁵ supporting the war in Iraq, a war that Obama opposed before he was elected to the Senate.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, 15 Jul 2007

"I find it amusing that those who helped authorize⁶ and engineer the biggest foreign policy disaster in our generation are now criticizing me for making sure that we are on the right battlefield and not the wrong battlefield in the war against terrorism," he said.  "If we have actionable intelligence on al-Qaida operatives, including [Osama] bin⁷ Laden⁸, and President Musharraf can not act, then we should."

Clinton supporters argue that Obama's recent comments on Pakistan and other foreign policy issues reinforce their contention⁹ that he does not have the experience to be president.

Obama supporters counter that their candidate offers a fresh direction for U.S. foreign policy in the wake of an unpopular war in Iraq.

Ben Smith is with the politics Website The Politico.com.

"I think what people are going to be talking about is, 'is Obama slapping down the criticism from Chris Dodd and Hillary Clinton by again pointing out that he opposed the war and they voted for it and who are they to kind of claim some sort of high ground in terms of foreign policy judgment," he explained.

The Republican presidential contenders have taken note of the debate unfolding among the Democrats.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt¹⁰ Romney criticized Obama during a recent Republican debate in Iowa.

"I had to laugh at what I saw Barack Obama do," he said.  "I mean, in one week he went from saying he was going to sit down for tea with our enemies, but then he is going to bomb our allies.  He has gone from [former anti-Vietnam war protester] Jane Fonda to Doctor Strangelove in one week!"

But not all the Republicans were critical.  Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is pinning his White House hopes on convincing voters that he is the candidate best able to lead the war on terror.

Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, 18 July 2007

"I believe that that is an option that should remain open," he said.  "The senator did not express it the right way.  I think the senator, if he could say it over again, might want to say that we would encourage Musharraf to allow us to do it if we thought he could not accomplish it."

Hillary Clinton leads the Democratic field and recent polls suggest she is expanding her lead over Senator Obama.  However, polls in the early contest states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina show a close race among Clinton, Obama and former North Carolina Senator John Edwards.

Rudy Giuliani leads on the Republican side, but by a smaller margin¹¹ over former Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee, Senator John McCain of Arizona and Mitt Romney.

Romney, however, leads among Republican voters in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

Fred Thompson is expected to officially enter the race in September.

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 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

3 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

4 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

5 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

6 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

7 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

8 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

9 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

10 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。

11 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。