CNN 2010-07-07

So Ron Paul supports Michael Steele's comments about the Afghan war. Well, there's one, because many Republicans are ripping him apart and wishing the party head would think before he jams his foot in the party's mouth. In case you missed it, here's what Mr. Steele said. It was late Friday at a fundraiser in Connecticut.

 

Keep in mind, again, for our federal candidates, this is a war of Obama's choosing. This is not, this is not something the United States actively¹ prosecuted² or want to engage in.

 

Steele has been forced to clarify his comments. Yes, there are some new ones that we might have missed. Let's talk about it, with CNN's foreign affairs correspondent Jill Daugherty. So, Jill, not a good sign when you have many powerful Republicans saying that the head of their party doesn't speak for them.

 

Yeah, in fact, two very important Republicans. And they happen to have been in Afghanistan when they reacted and they condemned³ what Mr. Steele said. Let's listen.

 

I think those statements are wildly inaccurate⁴. I think that Mr. Steele is going to have to assess as to whether he can still lead the Republican Party as chairman of the Republican National Committee.

 

Dismayed, angry, upset, it was an uninformed, unnecessary, unwise, untimely comment. This is not a President Obama's war. This is America's war.

 

So they stopped short of saying that Steele should actually step down. But some other Republicans are saying that he should. One of them is Bill Crystal, the influential⁵ conservative commentator⁶, and also Liz Cheney, another one, both saying he should resign, Kyra.

 

So what do you think? Will he be forced to resign? Obviously, there's people calling for it now, but what's the reality of it actually happening?

 

Well, you know, if you, there's another comment that's kind of interesting, and that's Representative Ron Paul who makes the point, he says, look, Steele has raised a lot of money, the Republicans over all are doing well. He's attracting, he argues, younger voters in people to the party. So, and he happens to agree with some of the comments about Afghanistan, so there is another school, but you have to say that a lot of the really, you know, well-known influential people in the party are not happy with this and think enough is enough.

 

We'll follow the fallout, shall we say. Jill Daugherty, thanks so much. Now Steele is the guy who called himself the gift that keeps on giving for Democrats⁷. For the GOP, he's more like the gaffe⁸ that keeps on goofing⁹. Remember last year when he was dissing the president's health reform plan? I asked him a simple question. Who was his health care provider and was he satisfied?

 

What kind of health care do you have?

 

I have, I have private health care through, through the RAC.

 

He really couldn't answer the question, as you could see, and there's a lot more where that came from.

 

Day 77 of the Gulf¹⁰ oil disaster. Right now we're awaiting results from this weekend's test run of the A Whale, a massive retrofitted cargo¹¹ ship converted into the world's largest oil-skimming vessel¹².

 

If approved, the A Whale, would join, Whale, rather, would join an oil-skimming flotilla of 550 ships that were working yesterday in the Gulf. This morning, new cost figures from BP who now say that they've spent more than 3.1 billion dollars responding to the disaster. The feds have put another 1100 square miles of the Gulf off limits for fishing. And that closes roughly a third of the Gulf of Mexico's federal waters, a precaution taken to ensure the quality of seafood¹³.

 

Did you wake up this morning with your ears ringing after celebrating America's birthday? Check out this spectacular fireworks display at the Washington monument. Last night the nation's capital put on quite a celebration for the Fourth of July

1 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

2 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

3 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

4 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

5 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

6 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

7 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》

8 gaffe   

n.（社交上令人不快的）失言，失态

参考例句：

• I had no idea of the gaffe which I was committing.我不清楚我犯了什么错误。
• He made an embarrassing gaffe at the convention last weekend.他在上周末的会议上出了洋相，狼狈不堪。

9 goofing   

v.弄糟( goof的现在分词 )；混；打发时间；出大错

参考例句：

• He should have been studying instead of goofing around last night. 他昨晚应该念书，不应该混。 来自走遍美国快乐40招
• Why don't you just admit you're goofing off? 偷了懒就偷了赖，还不爽爽快快承认？ 来自辞典例句

10 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

11 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

12 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

13 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。