Kerry Prepares for Aggressive Campaign Push

 

By Jim Malone

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is preparing to make an aggressive push for votes in several key battleground states this week as he seeks to regain¹ political momentum² in the U.S. election campaign.
Senator Kerry took a break from the campaign trail Sunday as he gears up for a major campaign swing beginning Monday on Labor³ Day, the traditional start of the U.S. general election campaign.
Fellow Democrats⁴ are urging Senator Kerry to be more aggressive in responding to Republican attacks and in his criticism of President Bush.
Several prominent Democrats have expressed concern about the direction of the Kerry campaign in the wake of two new public-opinion polls that give the president a double-digit lead over his Democratic challenger.
Kerry aides took to the airwaves on Sunday television talk shows in a bid to calm nervous Democrats. Kerry adviser⁵ Tad Devine spoke⁶ on Fox News Sunday.
"Incumbent⁷ presidents typically get a bounce, eight points or more," (said Mr. Devine) "Incumbent presidents typically reach their high point in terms of horse race in the general election in the aftermath of their convention. So, I expect this race will soon return to where it has been for a long time. A tight horse race, which will be decided⁸ by swing voters who right now are heavily disposed against the president."
The Bush campaign is clearly pleased with the polls giving the president a boost following his convention last week. But Bush campaign strategist Mathew Dowd also predicted the race is likely to tighten⁹ over the next few weeks. He also spoke on Fox News Sunday.
"Now, will this race begin to turn back to getting much closer? Yes, it will. By the time we get to the debates, this race will be much closer. But I do think there has been a fundamental shift. It is going to be hard if they are going to defy history in order to win. Is it possible? Yes, but it is much more difficult now."
After focusing on national security and foreign policy for much of the past few weeks, Senator Kerry is now emphasizing the economy and job growth as he tours so-called battleground states like Ohio.
"This President of the United States became the first president since the Great Depression to be absolutely certain on Election Day to have not created one single new job." (said Mr. Kerry)
Senator Kerry will embark¹⁰ on a whirlwind campaign tour Monday that will take him to a number of closely contested states, including Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Minnesota, Iowa, Louisiana and Ohio, which is perhaps the number one target state for both campaigns this year.
Jim Malone, VOA news, with the Kerry campaign in Pittsburgh.

注释：
momentum 要素
prominent 卓著的
airwave 电视广播
incumbent 在职的
strategist 战略家
defy 违抗
embark on 从事，着手
whirlwind campaign 快速决战
Iowa 爱荷华州
Louisiana 路易斯安娜州

 

1 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

2 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 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》

5 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

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 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

10 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。