VOA标准英语2008年-Obama Leads McCain in Early US Presidential Pol

By Jim Malone
Washington
12 June 2008

A new public opinion poll shows Democrat¹ Barack Obama leading Republican John McCain in the race for the White House by a margin² of 47 to 41 percent. The Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll was conducted as the general election campaign between Obama and McCain gets underway after months of primary and caucus³ votes to choose the major party nominees⁵. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has a preview from Washington.

Either man would make history if elected. Obama would become the first African-American president. If McCain wins, he would be the oldest candidate elected to a first term in the White House.

Both men had their share of challenges in clinching⁷ their party nominations⁹.

Obama was a newcomer to the national stage who was given little chance of defeating his heavily favored Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
　

Barack Obama speaks before a roundtable discussion about predatory lending at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, 11 June 2008

Obama's insurgent¹⁰ campaign successfully portrayed¹¹ the first-term senator from Illinois as an agent of change.

"I am here to report that my bet has paid off," he said. "My faith in the American people has been vindicated¹² because everywhere I go, people are standing¹³ up and they are saying, we are ready for change, we want something new, we want to turn the page and write a new chapter in American history."

The Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll found a majority of voters favor a president who will bring change over one who is more experienced and tested.

Despite that apparent advantage, Obama finds himself in a competitive race with Senator McCain.
　

John McCain smiles as he chats with law enforcement officers in Boston, Massachusetts, 12 June 2008

McCain ran an underdog campaign of his own to clinch⁶ the Republican nomination⁸, spurred by a comeback victory in the New Hampshire primary in January.

McCain emerged victorious¹⁴, despite lingering skepticism from some conservatives who doubt his commitment to their causes.

McCain will try to make the election about experience. McCain will cite his years of service in the military and in Congress, and he will question Obama's experience in national security and foreign policy issues.

McCain will also focus on his differences with Obama over the war in Iraq. Obama wants to begin withdrawing U.S. troops once he takes office, while McCain insists the United States must remain in Iraq until victory is achieved.

"We have incurred¹⁵ a moral responsibility in Iraq," he said. "It would be an unconscionable act of betrayal, a stain on our character as a great nation, if we were to walk away from the Iraqi people and consign¹⁶ them to the horrendous¹⁷ violence, ethnic¹⁸ cleansing¹⁹, and possibly genocide that would follow a reckless, irresponsible and premature²⁰ withdrawal²¹."

The main battle lines of the general-election campaign are already becoming clear.

"The Democrats²² are going to say John McCain is George W. Bush's third term no matter how he tries to distance himself," explained longtime political observer Tom DeFrank of the New York Daily News, who was a guest on VOA's Issues in the News program. "And the Republicans are going to paint Barack Obama, in the words of one of them recently to me, as just another loony leftist, and they are going to try to paint him as an ultra-liberal, na?ve, inexperienced and therefore risky²³ choice in a dangerous world. And I think that is how it is going to sort out, one way or the other."

While Obama leads McCain in the polls, he must shore up support among white men, suburban²⁴ women and independent voters.

Meanwhile, McCain appears to be hurt by the generally negative views of President Bush in recent polls and the fact that about seven in 10 Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, especially on economic issues.

"There is a general tilt²⁵ to the Democrats in the election, which you see in all of the generic²⁶ [polling] numbers, whether you ask about Congress or the presidency²⁷, or President Bush's numbers," noted²⁸ John Fortier, an expert on politics at the American Enterprise Institute, and a guest on VOA's Encounter program. "That is going to be tough for Republicans and John McCain. But, on the other hand, Republicans have ended up with a good nominee⁴, John McCain, who runs ahead of his party and might be able to make up some of those differences, and that is why I think we see a relatively²⁹ competitive polling set of numbers between Obama and McCain."

Experts say Obama will have an advantage if he keeps the election debate focused on change and addressing the weak economy. McCain would prefer to focus on national security, the war on terrorism and the issue of experience.

Stuart Rothenberg is a non-partisan political analyst³⁰ based in Washington. He also was a guest on VOA's Encounter.

"I think one of the key groups could be personality voters," he explained. "They are casual voters, they are younger voters, they are newer voters. They are going to get swept up in some of the Obama excitement, and this is a problem [for Republicans], people who want change. They do not even know what they mean by change, but they know they do not like the way things are now. I think this is the big Republican problem because while McCain will say that he favors change as much as Obama does, when you look at the two candidates and you look at the two parties, it is simply a harder argument for McCain to make."

Much of the general election debate is expected to focus on the domestic economy and the war in Iraq. Other issues that could figure prominently include terrorism, illegal immigration, the home mortgage crisis and the environment.

Obama is to be confirmed as the Democratic nominee at the national nominating convention in Denver in late August. McCain will be officially nominated at the Republican convention the following week in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

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 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

3 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。

4 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

5 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

6 clinch   

v.敲弯，钉牢；确定；扭住对方 [参]clench

参考例句：

• Clinch the boards together.用钉子把木板钉牢在一起。
• We don't accept us dollars,please Swiss francs to clinch a deal business.我方不收美元，请最好用瑞士法郎来成交生意。

7 clinching   

v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的现在分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议）

参考例句：

• Joe gets clinching evidence of the brains role when he dreams. 乔做梦时得到了大脑发生作用的决定性依据。 来自辞典例句
• Clinching, wrestling, pushing, or seizing, without attempting a throw or other technique. 抱，扭摔，推或抓而没有摔或其它的技术。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

10 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

11 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 vindicated   

v.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的过去式和过去分词 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护

参考例句：

• I have every confidence that this decision will be fully vindicated. 我完全相信这一决定的正确性将得到充分证明。
• Subsequent events vindicated the policy. 后来的事实证明那政策是对的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。

15 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。

16 consign   

vt.寄售（货品），托运，交托，委托

参考例句：

• We cannot agree to consign the goods.我们不同意寄售此货。
• We will consign the goods to him by express.我们将以快递把货物寄给他。

17 horrendous   

adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的

参考例句：

• He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.他形容这是自己一生中最可怕的经历。
• The mining industry in China has a horrendous safety record.中国的煤矿工业具有令人不安的安全记录。

18 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

19 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

20 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

21 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

22 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》

23 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

24 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

25 tilt   

v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜

参考例句：

• She wore her hat at a tilt over her left eye.她歪戴着帽子遮住左眼。
• The table is at a slight tilt.这张桌子没放平，有点儿歪.

26 generic   

adj.一般的，普通的，共有的

参考例句：

• I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
• The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。

27 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

28 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

29 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。

30 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。