VOA常速英语2008年-US Democratic Candidates Battle for Hispanic Vo

By Greg Flakus
Houston
23 February 2008

With the March 4 primary approaching in Texas, presidential candidates from both U.S. political parties are seeking votes from the state's large Hispanic population. More than a third of the people in Texas are Hispanic, with African-Americans accounting¹ for around 11 percent and whites, sometimes called Anglos, now at a little less than half. As VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Houston, the impact of Hispanics on the Democratic party primary will depend on voter turnout and organization.

Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are running commercials in Spanish in Texas and they are also campaigning in heavily Hispanic areas. The race between the two for the party's presidential nomination² is very close, and every vote counts.

But Hispanics are not as easy to target as other groups. Candidates spend money on Spanish language advertising³, yet surveys show most Hispanics here get their news in English.

Hillary Clinton has the stronger and longer relationship with Latinos in Texas. Hispanics were happy with programs promoted by her husband, former President Bill Clinton, when he was in office.

One of Senator Clinton's most enthusiastic supporters in Houston is businessman Gregory Compean. "I am a third generation Hispanic. I was born here, my parents were born here, but once upon a time, my grandparents had a vision to look for a land of opportunity and now I want to be able to reach out to our community and keep building that bridge," he said.

Compean has donated one of the buildings he owns for the Clinton campaign's local headquarters. He says immigration is an important issue and he likes Clinton's support for comprehensive reform. He also sees her as the candidate with the most experience.

But Thomas Servello is also a Houston Hispanic, and he is volunteering for Barack Obama. "I have been with Obama since he started. I think he knows how to connect to the public. He has connected with Hispanics. All my friends who are Hispanic have also been with me, with Obama. He knows how to speak to everyone, not just the people who have been there before, but the people who are there now and I think he is the right person," he said.

Servello says he is not troubled by Obama's comparative lack of experience. He says he is sure the senator will pick a good team of advisors⁴ to help him govern.

Rice University political science professor Earl Black is co-author of the book Divided America: The Ferocious⁵ Power Struggle in American Politics. He says the historically low voter turnout among Hispanics, as opposed to high turnout among blacks, could undermine Clinton's Texas strategy.

"In general, Obama has an advantage, because the African-American electorate⁶ is smaller on paper, but it is much better organized and much better concentrated in Texas's big cities. It will be more difficult for Hillary Clinton to motivate and really turn out the much larger group of Hispanic Texans, who on paper look to be her supporters, but who may not turn out in proportion to their numbers," he said.

Also, the Hispanic population, fed by immigration, is much larger than the numbers of Hispanics who are eligible⁷ to vote.

Where the votes are is also important because Texas has a complicated system that involves both a primary and a caucus⁸ on the same night, with delegates per congressional district awarded on the basis of Democratic votes cast in each district in past elections. That means that, even if Hispanics come out to vote in large numbers in areas where they are dominant⁹, the number of delegates they deliver will be limited, based on past turnout.

Earl Black says Obama's momentum¹⁰ from ten victories in a row elsewhere and his appeal to young voters give him an opportunity to overcome Clinton here, in spite of her work over the years building support in the state.

"A state like Texas that would look to have a big advantage for Hillary Clinton is probably going to be a lot more competitive, and you certainly could not rule out an Obama victory in Texas," he said.

The most recent surveys show the two Democratic candidates in a virtual dead heat in Texas. Hillary Clinton continues to hold the lead among Hispanics and women, but Obama could cut into that support as he did recently in Wisconsin and other states.

1 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

2 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。

3 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

4 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor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：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

5 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

6 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

7 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

8 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

9 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

10 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。