2007年VOA标准英语-Fred Thompson Formally Enters US Presidential R

By Jim Malone
Washington
06 September 2007

Former Senator Fred Thompson has made it official. Thompson is now one of nine contenders seeking the Republican Party's presidential nomination¹ next year. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington.

Fred Thompson making the announcement on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, 5 Sep 2007

In keeping with the new style of politics for the 2008 presidential election, Thompson chose to announce his White House bid on an entertainment program, NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

"I am running for President of the United States," announced Thompson.

He also released a video announcement on his campaign Website.

"My friends, I come to you today to tell you that I intend to run for president," he said. "I feel deeply that I am doing it for the right reasons. I love my country and I am concerned about its future."

Thompson skipped a Republican candidates debate in the early primary state of New Hampshire, drawing some jabs from rivals including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

"I think this is a nomination you have to earn, though," said Giuliani. "Nobody is going to give it to you, nobody is going to grant it to you."

The eight Republicans who took part in the debate argued over immigration, taxes and the war in Iraq.

President Bush's surge strategy in Iraq was the subject of this exchange between former Massachusetts Governor Mitt² Romney and Arizona Senator John McCain.

ROMNEY: "If the surge is working, then we are going to be able to start bringing back our troop levels."

MCCAIN: "The surge is working, sir."

ROMNEY: "That is just what I said."

MCCAIN: "It is working. No, not apparently³. It is working."

This will probably be the last Republican debate without Fred Thompson.

Thompson is a former senator from Tennessee and is best known for his acting⁴ roles in film and on television. He supports the president on Iraq and hopes to appeal to social conservative voters still searching for a favorite among the Republican presidential contenders.

Political analyst⁵ Stuart Rothenberg was a recent guest on VOA's Encounter program.

"Many people who would like Ronald Reagan to run again think that Fred Thompson could be the next Ronald Reagan," said Rothenberg. "He is personable. He is likable. He is easy going."

But Thompson was expected to join the race months ago and has had problems raising money and keeping campaign staffers.

John Fortier monitors the presidential campaign at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.

"For some reason, he has waited on his campaign," he said. "He has gotten a lot of scrutiny⁶, not raised as much money as we expected he would raise. So even his star has fallen a little bit. I think Republicans really are at a bit of a loss to figure out who they want."

Despite his relatively⁷ late entry into the race, Thompson was running in second or third place in most public opinion polls before he announced his candidacy.

Thompson enters a Republican field with no clear frontrunner. Former Mayor Giuliani has led in national polls for months, but former Governor Romney is leading in the critical early contest states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

1 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。

2 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。

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 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。

6 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。

7 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。