VOA标准英语2008年-Obama Advisor Provides Details on Vice Presiden

A senior advisor¹ to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee² Barack Obama says the party's ticket has been strengthened by the selection of Senator Joe Biden for vice³ president. VOA's Michael Bowman reports from Washington, Obama named Biden as his running mate two days before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

The choice of running mate is, arguably, the most important decision a presidential candidate must make before the election, one that provides hints as to how the potential commander-in-chief would make decisions and ultimately govern the nation, if elected.
　
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama and his vice presidential running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, appear together Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008, in Springfield, Ill.

Barack Obama has tapped Delaware Senator Joe Biden, who has served for six consecutive⁴ terms and is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

A senior Obama advisor, Robert Gibbs, says Biden fulfills⁵ the most important duty of a vice president: the ability to serve as president should the need arise.

"Senator Biden has unparalleled foreign policy experience. We [the Obama campaign] hired him for his judgment⁶ to lead this country, if something happens to Barack Obama, and the judgment and the advice that he will give to the next president of the United States. And, we think we have a fabulous⁷ pick. We have got someone who has not forgotten where they are from, and someone who can help rebuild this country," said Gibbs, who was speaking on the Fox News Sunday television program.

Polls show Americans generally view Obama as the candidate who most represents change and a break from the status quo. But polls also show a majority of Americans view his Republican rival, John McCain, as more experienced and better equipped to serve as commander-in-chief.

Since Saturday, numerous political analysts⁸ have commented that Biden helps counteract⁹ Obama's perceived weakness on governance, but that, as someone who has served in Congress for more than three decades, Biden also blunts Obama's overriding¹⁰ message of bringing change to Washington.

Already, the McCain campaign has released advertisements pointing out instances during the primary season in which Biden, suggested Obama lacked the experience needed to be president. Biden was competing with Obama and others for the Democratic nomination¹¹ at the time, but dropped out of the race early on. McCain ads have also attacked Obama for passing over his fiercest primary rival, New York Senator Hillary Clinton, for the vice presidential slot.

Former New York Mayor Rudi Giuliani, who competed against John McCain in the Republican primaries, echoed that message on ABC's This Week program.

"Senator Obama has made a choice more out of weakness than strength. It is quite clear [that] the strong choice would have been Hillary Clinton. The obvious choice would have been Hillary Clinton. She had 50 percent of the Democratic vote [in the primaries]; Obama had 50 percent of the Democratic vote," said Giuliani.

Recent polls show roughly one-in-five who voted for Clinton in the primaries favor McCain over Obama, despite repeated Clinton statements urging her supporters to rally behind the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Whether the Democrats¹² can unite as a party during this week's national convention after a bruising¹³ primary season remains¹⁴ to be seen. Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, gave a preview of the core message that will be heard at the convention, beginning with Obama's personal story.

"The son of a single mother, working his way up, and then going back to work in communities that were felled by steel plant closings, we are going to tell that story. But we are also going to tell the story about what has happened to the country under the policies we have seen under the broken politics of Washington. We are not going to shy away from making a contrast," said Axelrod.

The Republican National Convention begins next week. The McCain campaign has hinted that the Arizona Senator could name his running mate as early as this Friday, the day after the close of the Democratic National Convention.

 

1 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

2 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。

3 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。

4 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

5 fulfills   

v.履行（诺言等）( fulfill的第三人称单数 )；执行（命令等）；达到（目的）；使结束

参考例句：

• He always fulfills his promises. 他总是履行自己的诺言。 来自辞典例句
• His own work amply fulfills this robust claim. 他自己的作品在很大程度上实现了这一正确主张。 来自辞典例句

6 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

7 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

8 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。

9 counteract   

vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some medicine to counteract the effect of the poison.医生给他些药解毒。
• Our work calls for mutual support.We shouldn't counteract each other's efforts.工作要互相支持，不要互相拆台。

10 overriding   

a.最主要的

参考例句：

• Development is of overriding importance. 发展是硬道理
• My overriding concern is to raise the standards of state education. 我最关心的是提高国民教育水平。

11 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。

12 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》

13 bruising   

adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了，一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句

14 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。