Bush and Kerry Campaign in Key States

 

By Paula Wolfson
 
President Bush and Democratic presidential nominee¹ John Kerry are campaigning hard in states where the race for the White House is close, focusing both on Iraq and key domestic issues. Mr. Bush spent Wednesday courting votes in Pennsylvania, while Senator Kerry concentrated on Florida.

They devoted² most of their remarks on the road to matters like providing better schools for the nation's children and covering the cost of health care for the elderly. But Iraq continues to hang over both campaigns. It is the issue that will not go away.

In a Philadelphia suburb, the president interrupted a discussion of education policy to talk about Iraq's place in the war on terrorism. He said John Kerry is a pessimist³ who does not believe freedom can take root in Iraqi soil.

"You cannot expect the Iraqi people to stand up and do the hard work of democracy if you are pessimistic about their ability to govern themselves," said Mr. Bush.

In an unusual move, Vice⁴ President Dick Cheney went before reporters in the halls of the U.S. Congress and read a statement re-enforcing that message.

"The choice the American people will make on November 2 is whether we will continue with the tough, aggressive and effective policies of this administration, or revert⁵ back to the pre-9/ll mindset by electing someone whose views on these issues are marked by indecision, confusion and contradiction," said Mr. Cheney.

Senator Kerry responded during a meeting with voters in West Palm Beach, Florida.

"Today, the president made some comments on Iraq. Once again, he is avoiding the truth and the reality of what is happening. I am an optimist⁶ about what could be achieved there. I am an optimist about what our young men and women deserve. They are the best fighting forces in the world."

He called the president stubborn and ideological⁷ and said the Bush administration is not being totally honest about both the war and its handling of the nation's biggest domestic problems.

Senator Kerry made specific mention of the massive government programs that help the elderly by providing retirement⁸ benefits and health care subsidies⁹. Florida, which played a crucial role in the 2000 election, has a large population of senior citizens.

It is also the site of the first debate between the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates. The session, which will center on foreign policy, will take place next Thursday in Miami.

Paula Wolfson, VOA News, at the White House.

注释：
nominee 被提名者
pessimist 悲观主义者
indecision 优柔寡断
stubborn 顽固的
retirement benefit 退休金
subsidy 补助金
Miami 迈阿密

1 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。

2 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

3 pessimist   

n.悲观者；悲观主义者；厌世

参考例句：

• An optimist laughs to forget.A pessimist forgets to laugh.乐观者笑着忘却，悲观者忘记怎样笑。
• The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity.The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.悲观者在每个机会中都看到困难，乐观者在每个困难中都看到机会。

4 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。

5 revert   

v.恢复，复归，回到

参考例句：

• Let us revert to the earlier part of the chapter.让我们回到本章的前面部分。
• Shall we revert to the matter we talked about yesterday?我们接着昨天谈过的问题谈，好吗？

6 optimist   

n.乐观的人，乐观主义者

参考例句：

• We are optimist and realist.我们是乐观主义者，又是现实主义者。
• Peter,ever the optimist,said things were bound to improve.一向乐观的皮特说，事情必定是会好转的。

7 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

8 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

9 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》