VOA标准英语2008年-Republicans and Democrats Debate Before First U

By Meredith Buel
Manchester, New Hampshire
06 January 2008

Republicans and Democrats² seeking their party's U.S. presidential nomination³ have debated important foreign policy issues, just days before the nation's first presidential primary in New Hampshire. VOA correspondent Meredith Buel has details of the debate from Manchester, New Hampshire.

The nationally-televised debate at St. Anselm's College in Manchester was split into two 90-minute forums⁴.

The Republicans came first and immediately tangled⁵ on issues of foreign policy and the war on terror.

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt⁶ Romney attacked former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee for writing in Foreign Policy magazine that some of the Bush administration's policies reflected what Huckabee called an arrogant⁷, bunker mentality⁸.

Romney said, "You need a thorough understanding of what radical⁹ jihad is, what the movement is, what its intent is, where it flows from and the fact is that it is trying to bring down not just us, but it is trying to bring down all moderate, Islamic governments, Western governments around the world as we just saw in Pakistan. But let us step back with regards to the president. The president is not arrogant. The president is not subject to a bunker mentality."

Huckabee, who surprised many analysts¹⁰ by winning the recent Iowa caucuses¹¹, but trails Romney and Arizona Senator John McCain in recent polls in New Hampshire, said he will have his own foreign policy if elected president.

"I am not a person who is out there taking cheap shots at the president," he said. "I worked really hard to get him elected. But I am not running for George Bush's third term. I want to be President of the United States on my own terms."

Senator McCain, who is now leading the Republican pack, according to the latest public opinion surveys in New Hampshire, said America's security has improved since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. 

"America is safer. America is not safe, America is safer. I would like to give the president some credit for that," he said.

The Republican candidates also tangled over issues such as illegal immigration and health care.

In an extraordinary moment between the debates, the major Democratic candidates for president joined the Republicans for handshakes and hugs.

The photo opportunity was designed to show that whoever wins the race, he or she will have the support of the American people.

The Democrats also debated foreign policy and comments by Illinois Senator Barack Obama that the U.S. should launch a military strike against terrorist Osama bin¹² Laden¹³ if he is found hiding in Pakistan.

Obama, who was the top Democrat¹ in the Iowa caucuses and who is tied with New York Senator Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire surveys, says he stands by the statement. 

"We have to press them [Pakistan] to do more to take on al-Qaida in their territory," he said. "What I said was, if they could not or would not do so and we had actionable intelligence, then I would strike."

Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, who edged out Clinton for second place in Iowa and is running third in New Hampshire polls, agreed.

"If I was president of the United States, and knew where Osama bin Laden is, I would go get him, period," he said.

Senator Clinton, who is trying to recover from her third place finish in Iowa, said regional considerations need to be understood if a strike against bin Laden is initiated¹⁴. 

"At some point, probably when the missiles have been launched, the Pakistani government has to know they are on the way because one of the problems is the inherent paranoia¹⁵ about India," she said.

The Democrats also discussed how they would end the war in Iraq and who has the best experience to change current policies in Washington.

The debate came just days before the voting begins in New Hampshire, the state that conducts America's first presidential primary.

1 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。

2 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》

3 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。

4 forums   

讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭

参考例句：

• A few of the forums were being closely monitored by the administrators. 有些论坛被管理员严密监控。
• It can cast a dark cloud over these forums. 它将是的论坛上空布满乌云。

5 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

6 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。

7 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。

8 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

9 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

10 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。

11 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

12 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。

13 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。

14 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

15 paranoia   

n.妄想狂，偏执狂；多疑症

参考例句：

• Her passion for cleanliness borders on paranoia.她的洁癖近乎偏执。
• The push for reform is also motivated by political paranoia.竞选的改革运动也受到政治偏执狂症的推动。