VOA标准英语2008年-Iraq: The Defining Difference Between McCain, O

By Jim Malone
Washington
13 June 2008

The war in Iraq continues to be a sharp point of difference between the two presumptive U.S. presidential nominees¹, Democrat² Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has been monitoring the campaign debate and has a report from Washington.

Campaigning in New Jersey³, Senator McCain said voters in this election face a stark⁴ choice on the war in Iraq.
　

John McCain addresses a town hall meeting in Pemberton, New Jersey, 13 June 2008

McCain says the United States is winning in Iraq, and he strongly opposes Senator Obama's plan to begin troop withdrawals⁵ shortly after taking office.

"He said the surge could not work and would not work, and to this day, to this very day, Senator Obama refuses to acknowledge that we are winning in Iraq," he said. "He refuses. He called it spin. Is General Petraeus spinning the American people? I do not think so. I do not think so."

Obama was on the campaign trail Friday in Ohio, usually a key swing state in presidential elections.

Obama restated his opposition⁶ to the war in Iraq after a voter asked him why the U.S. image abroad has sharply declined in recent years.
　

Barack Obama speaks at the Oakleaf Village retirement7 community in Columbus, Ohio 13 June 2008

"Everybody supported us after 9/11. Everybody supported us going into Afghanistan. Right? It was not until we decided⁸ to go into Iraq, without listening to other countries who warned us that it might be a mistake, and George Bush basically ignored world opinion and the facts that there was no connection between 9/11 and Iraq, that is when world opinion plummeted," he said.

The latest campaign jabs on Iraq come at the end of a week of back and forth⁹ volleys on the war, which is likely to be a key issue in the November election, along with the weakening U.S. economy.

"McCain is betting that the American people will be persuaded, ultimately, that no matter how angry they seem to be about what is going on in Iraq, we cannot afford to lose," said Tom DeFrank of the New York Daily News and a frequent guest on VOA's Issues in the News program. "And, I think that Obama is taking the position that we will not lose, but we do not need to have as many troops there as we do at the moment, and with three-quarters of the American people opposed to the war in Iraq, I think that is an issue that works for Obama better than it does for McCain."

Iraq and the economy will likely be the focus of presidential debates later this year, but how many debates are held remains¹⁰ an open question.

In recent elections, the two major party contenders have taken part in three nationally televised debates, while their vice¹¹ presidential running mates debate once.

Senator McCain has proposed an additional series of 10 town hall meetings in which he and Senator Obama would appear together to answer questions from voters.

But the Obama campaign has rejected that idea. An Obama spokesman said the presumed Democratic candidate would be willing to take part in one town hall event with McCain and one foreign policy debate, in addition to the three nationally televised debates scheduled between late September and mid-October.

1 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

2 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。

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

5 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

8 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。

9 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 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。