Obama officially kicks off reelection campaign

 　　RICHMOND, the United States, May 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday held his first official campaign rallies in Columbus, Ohio and Richmond, Virginia, delivering two almost identical fiery¹ speeches attacking Republican policies and pledging to bring the country forward if he is reelected.

　　"Four years ago, you and I began a journey together, not just to win an election ... We came to reclaim² the basic bargain that built the biggest middle class in the world," said Obama at his rally in the Virginia Commonwealth³ University in Richmond.

　　The president made plenty of reference to his new campaign slogan "Forward," which premiered in a seven-minute campaign video aired during the past week.

　　"We gotta move forward to the future we imagined in 2008," said the president to his supporters holding blue signs that read " Forward" and red ones that read "Not Back."

　　Directly criticizing his likely Republican opponent Mitt⁴ Romney by name, Obama took a shot at the presumptive GOP nominee's remarks during the GOP primary. "Corporations aren't people. People are people," said the president, in a clear reference to an earlier comment by Romney.

　　"We remember, we were there, and we are not going back!" said Obama.

　　"We believe the free market is one of the greatest forces for progress in human history," said Obama. "But we also believe that at its best, the free market has never been a license⁵ to take whatever you want, however you can get it ... America only prospers⁶ when we meet our obligations to one another and to future generations."

　　Obama held his first two campaign rallies in the battleground states of Ohio and Virginia, both of which he carried in 2008. Polls show he and Romney are in dead heat in Ohio, but he leads by a comfortable margin⁷ in Virginia, which is in a relatively⁸ good shape economically.

　　Danny Cotlow, a 53-year-old IT specialist from Vienna, VA, told Xinhua at the Richmond rally that he expects Obama to do well head to head against Romney. He said Obama "cares for us as a people" and has good initiatives that would "get this country going again, " while Romney despite his business credentials⁹ "has no understanding of the middle class, or people in need."

　　The president's plea for more time to implement¹⁰ change has also had an impact on his supporters. Gwendolyn Parham, a retired¹¹ university professor who lives in Richmond, said she doesn't think there was enough change in the past four years, but the blame was on the Republicans.

　　"I think he (Obama) needs to be left alone to focus on doing his job as a president, which I think he has done a good job doing, " said Parham, adding that she believes Obama "needs a more positive working environment."

　　Both of the Saturday rallies were attended by thousands of mostly fired-up supporters of the president, who offered thunderous applause and kept chanting "Four More Years" during his remarks.

1 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

2 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

3 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

4 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。

5 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

6 prospers   

v.成功，兴旺( prosper的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Whatever prospers my business is welcome. 凡使我生意兴隆者皆竭诚欢迎。 来自辞典例句
• Whatever prospers my business is good. 任何使我生意兴隆的都是好的。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 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。

9 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

10 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

11 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。