Obama Midwest Bus Tour Focuses on Economy

 　　President Barack Obama is in the U.S. midwest on what the White House calls an economic bus trip through politically important states as he ramps¹ up campaigning for the 2012 presidential election.  The president faces some new poll numbers reflecting deep worries Americans have about the economy.

　　At stops across the country,  Obama has frequently said that while Americans voted for divided government in Washington, they did not vote for a "do nothing" government.

　　He is amplifying² this theme on this trip, urging support for balanced solutions to the nation's fiscal³ woes⁴ and contrasting his approach with that the Republicans, particularly those in the conservative Tea Party, took in recent debt and deficit⁵ negotiations⁶.

　　In his first stop in Cannon⁷ Falls, Minnesota, which was last visited by a president in 1928, Mr. Obama repeated his criticisms of political brinksmanship in Washington.

　　"We have got a politics, in which some folks in Congress, not the folks who are here, but some in Congress would rather see their opponents lose than America win," said President Obama. "We ended up creating more uncertainty⁸ and more damage to an economy that was already weak."

　　The president faced mostly friendly questions from a supportive crowd of about 500.

　　Obama repeated criticisms of Republicans for their approach in the debt negotiations.  He underscored his position that programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid need to be strengthened, but not radically⁹ changed and urged people to pressure Congress.

　　"You have got to send a message to Washington that it is time for the games to stop, it is time to put country first," said Obama.

　　The White House said there is no direct link between the president's trip and the recent "straw poll" in Iowa, a Republican preference vote won by Minnesota Congresswoman, and Tea Party lawmaker, Michelle Bachmann.

　　But President Obama needs to raise support in midwestern states important to his re-election hopes, as Republican presidential candidates step up their attacks on his handling of the economy.

　　The current Republican front-runner, former Massachusetts governor Mitt¹⁰ Romney issued a political video showing Minnesotans, including Joseph Bromley, criticizing the president on the state of the economy. "In the last election, I voted for Barack Obama, and I just feel that I can not [now]," he said.

　　Campaigning in the northeastern state of New Hampshire, Romney continued to criticize the president's economic policies.

　　"Twenty-five-million Americans [out of work or underemployed], home values still going down, three years into the president's four-year term, home values going down, record foreclosures," said Romney.

　　U.S. unemployment remains¹¹ above the nine-percent mark.  Underscoring American's worries about the economy, a new Gallup Poll shows President Obama's job approval rating at 39 percent, a new low for him, although other presidents have struggled with similar numbers in their first term.

　　Mr. Obama's schedule included a similar town hall later in the town of Decorah, Iowa.

　　On Tuesday, he conducts a rural economic forum¹² at Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta, and has two events on in Illinois.

　　At his appearances on Monday, President Obama pointed¹³ to a commentary published Monday in The New York Times by billionaire Warren Buffett, who he consults on economic issues.

　　Saying the U.S. Congress should "stop coddling the super rich" Buffett called for raising taxes immediately on Americans earning more than $1 million.

　　In the difficult compromise with Republicans for a debt and deficit, Mr. Obama called for eliminating tax loopholes for wealthy Americans and has called for Congress to extend tax advantages for the middle class.

1 ramps   

resources allocation and multiproject scheduling 资源分配和多项目的行程安排

参考例句：

• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。
• He has the upper floor and ramps are fitted everywhere for his convenience. 他住在上面一层，为了他的方便着想，到处设有坡道。

2 amplifying   

放大，扩大( amplify的现在分词 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• Often they use borrowed funds, amplifying their gains and losses. 他们通常会用借贷的资金交易，从而放大收益或损失。
• An amplifying type (or analog) device, as opposed to digital device. 放大器类（或模拟）器件，相对于数字器件而言的。

3 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

4 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

5 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

8 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

9 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。

10 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

11 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。

12 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

13 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。