VOA标准英语2008年-Huckabee, Romney Lead Republican Presidential P

By Jim Malone
Des Moines
02 January 2008

The Midwest state of Iowa begins the 2008 presidential nominating process Thursday, and the race for the Republican Party's presidential nomination¹ appears to be wide open at this point. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has a closer look at the Republican race from Des Moines, Iowa.

Public opinion polls show a tight race in the Republican field in Iowa between former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt² Romney.

Romney is better financed and better organized in Iowa than Huckabee. But Huckabee has risen in the polls in recent weeks thanks in large part to growing support from social and religious conservatives who make up a sizable portion of Republican voters in Iowa.

"But if you in Iowa prove that it is not just about the money, it is about the message, it is about what people care about, then we will have an impact on politics for decades to come," said Huckabee.

Romney has launched several attack ads in recent days, targeting both Huckabee and Senator John McCain of Arizona. McCain is gaining on Romney in New Hampshire, which hosts the first presidential primary next Tuesday, five days after the Iowa vote.

During his campaign stops, Romney stays away from attacks on his opponents and focuses instead on his own background.

"I think it important to have somebody who knows something about change, who has lived in the private sector³, who knows why jobs come and why they go, who has traveled in the world and understands how we compete with other nations," said Romney.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has not campaigned much in Iowa, even though he has led the Republican field in national polls for months. Giuliani hopes to score some victories in primaries in late January and early February in larger states like Florida, California and New York.

Among the Republican contenders in Iowa, there is also a struggle for third place between John McCain and former Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee.

Senator McCain emphasizes his military background and his experience in foreign policy issues.

"I have one guiding principle, one ambition, and that is to keep America safe and to achieve and maintain our greatness," he said.

Thompson also argues that his background as a lawyer and senator makes him uniquely qualified⁴ to be commander in chief.

"When our worst enemy is sitting there at the negotiating table and thinking what he can do to the United States of America, who do you want sitting on our side of the table representing you? That is probably the guy you ought to elect president," said Thompson.

Surveys of Republican voters show about half either have not decided⁵ on a contender yet or, if they have, they could still change their minds.

Historians note that this is the first presidential election since 1928 that neither a sitting president nor vice⁶ president is seeking their party nomination, adding a new level of uncertainty⁷ to the process.

"There is not a sitting president in contention⁸ for the nomination and there is not a sitting vice president in contention for the nomination," said Allan Lichtman, who is a presidential historian at American University in Washington. "There is no heir apparent whatever for the incumbent⁹ party, the party holding the White House. That is very unusual in modern American history."

After Iowa, the Republican battle goes to New Hampshire, Michigan, South Carolina and Florida.

The Republicans will officially nominate their presidential candidate in early September at their national convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Democrats¹⁰ hold their nominating convention in late August in Denver, Colorado.

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 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

4 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 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。

7 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

8 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。

9 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。

10 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》