VOA标准英语10月-Obama, McCain Clash Over Foreign Policy, Taxes

In the U.S. presidential race Wednesday, Democrat¹ Barack Obama focused on a new direction in foreign policy, while his Republican opponent, John McCain, looked to make a comeback in the polls. VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone reports on the presidential campaign from Washington.
　

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama speaks during a foreign policy meeting in Richmond, Virginia, 22 Oct. 2008

Senator Obama convened² a meeting of his foreign policy and national security advisers³ in Virginia.

Afterward⁴, Obama told a news conference that he is up to the challenge of leading the United States at a time of economic crisis at home and foreign policy challenges abroad.

"We cannot afford four more years of policies that have failed to adjust to a new century," Obama said. "We are not going to defeat terrorist networks that operate in 80 countries through an occupation of Iraq. We are not going to deny the nuclear ambitions of Iran by refusing to pursue direct diplomacy⁵ alongside our allies."

Obama repeated his pledge to bring a responsible end to the war in Iraq and shift more U.S. troops into Afghanistan, where he said the situation in grave.

Obama was also asked about the recent comments of his vice⁶ presidential running mate, Senator Joe Biden of Delaware.

Biden predicted that Obama would face what he called a "generated crisis" if he became president, a comment Republican John McCain seized on to question Obama's readiness to be commander in chief.

"Whoever is the next president is going to have to deal with a whole host of challenges internationally," Obama said. "And a period of transition in a new administration is always one in which we have to be vigilant⁷, we have to be careful, we have to be mindful that as we pass the baton⁸ in this democracy that others do not take advantage of it."

Obama also rejected complaints from Republicans that the Obama tax plan is a form of socialism. Obama said it was not a plausible⁹ argument because no one accused McCain of being a socialist¹⁰ in 2000 when McCain initially¹¹ opposed President Bush's tax cuts for wealthy Americans.
　

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain reaches out to greet supporters in Goffstown, New Hampshire, 22 Oct. 2008

McCain was busy trying to spark yet another political comeback in one of his favorite states - New Hampshire.

McCain's victory in this year's New Hampshire primary in January put him on course to win the Republican Party's presidential nomination¹². He also won the New Hampshire primary against then Texas Governor George Bush in 2000.

"It does not matter what the pundits¹³ think or how confident my opponent is," McCain said. "The people of New Hampshire make their own decisions. And more than once, they have ignored the polls and the pundits and brought me across the finish line first. I cannot think of any place I would rather be as Election Day draws close than running an underdog campaign in the state of New Hampshire!"

But public opinion polls suggest that McCain will have to climb out of a deep hole. Several recent national surveys give Obama a double-digit lead over McCain, and McCain trails in several key swing states - states that are competitive for both campaigns - that could be decisive in the electoral vote count on November 4.

In New Hampshire, McCain continued to criticize Obama's tax plan as an obstacle to economic growth and he questioned Obama's readiness to be president.

"We face many enemies in this dangerous world and many challenges here at home. The next president will not have time to get used to the office," McCain said. "He cannot invite testing from the world. He will have to act immediately."

With less than two weeks to go in the campaign, political experts caution that there still could be some sort of "October Surprise" - an unanticipated outside event that could shake up the race to McCain's benefit.

But longtime political observer Tom DeFrank of the New York Daily News says the pivotal event in this year's campaign likely already happened.

"I think if Obama is the next president, we are all going to be writing that the 'October Surprise,' the Hurricane Katrina, if you will, was the economy because that is what, at least as of today, has crippled McCain's candidacy," DeFrank said.

The McCain campaign finds itself on the defensive¹⁴ trying to hold states like Missouri, Indiana and North Carolina that traditionally support Republican presidential candidates.

Obama has made inroads in several swing states that could vote for either candidate, including Colorado and New Mexico, and he is focused on winning larger competitive states like Ohio and Florida that often determine the outcome of presidential elections.

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 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

3 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

4 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

5 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

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 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

8 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

9 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

10 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

11 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。

12 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。

13 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

14 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。