2006年VOA标准英语-US Presidential Contenders Take Early Steps Tow

By Jim Malone
Washington
16 November 2006

The 2006 U.S. congressional elections are now history, but there is already plenty of activity in both parties looking ahead to the 2008 presidential campaign. VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone has an early preview from Washington.

Within days of the end of the 2006 congressional election campaign, Democrats¹ and Republicans alike were already taking steps to run for president in 2008.

 
Rudolph Giuliani
On the Republican side, Arizona Senator John McCain is setting up a committee to explore a presidential bid two years from now as is former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

Giuliani spoke³ recently in New Hampshire, the state that traditionally hosts the first presidential primary and a key stepping stone to the White House.

"You have got to campaign, you know, person to person, and people get a chance to really evaluate you and they get a chance to figure out, what are your ideas, what do you stand for," he said.

A recent Gallup poll found Giuliani the top choice among Republicans for president in 2008. Giuliani won the support of 28 percent of voters while John McCain was second at 26 percent.

Other Republicans who have either taken steps to run for president or are considering a bid include Massachusetts Governor Mitt² Romney, Tennessee Senator Bill Frist, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Kansas Senator Sam Brownback and California Congressman⁴ Duncan Hunter.

 
John McCain 
Many experts regard Senator McCain as the early favorite in the Republican field. But McCain faces doubts among some social conservatives who criticize his efforts to win over moderate and independent voters.

John Fortier, a political analyst⁵ at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, says McCain will be in the spotlight⁶ in the congressional debate over Iraq in the months ahead.

"You have [Senator] John McCain on the Republican side who is not quite the favorite of this bigger field, but will be in the Senate, will be on the Armed Services Committee and involved in some of these debates," hr said. "So I think you will see the presidential politics swirling⁷ in the congressional arena⁸ just because the players are there."

McCain is one of the few potential candidates for 2008 who advocates sending more U.S. troops into Iraq to quell⁹ the sectarian violence there.

Some experts believe Iraq could prove to be a political liability for the Republicans in 2008 much as it was in this year's congressional elections.

"If you stick with the basic strategy that he [President Bush] has been pursuing for three years in Iraq, which is that you have got a large number of troops kind of in the crossfire¹⁰ there, that could really put a damper on Republican prospects¹¹ for 2008," said Judd Legum, who  is with the Center for American Progress, a public policy research organization in Washington.

As for the Democratic field in 2008, most experts regard New York Senator Hillary Clinton as the favorite. But Clinton must overcome doubts by some Democrats that she is too polarizing a political figure to win the White House.

 
Barack Obama 
Clinton may also get a challenge from an unexpected newcomer to the national stage. First-term Illinois Senator Barack Obama has caused a stir within the Democratic Party by announcing he is considering a White House bid in 2008.

Some of his Democratic rivals question whether Obama has the necessary experience to run for president, noting he has served only two years in the Senate. Obama spoke to that issue during a recent appearance on NBC's Meet the Press.

"I am not sure anybody is ready to be president before they are president," he said. "Ultimately, I trust the judgment¹² of the American people that in any election that they sort it through because, you know, we have a long and rigorous process."

Other Democrats who have either taken steps to run or are considering a White House bid include Senators Joseph Biden of Delaware, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Evan Bayh of Indiana, John Kerry of Massachusetts, and former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina.

Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa has announced he is forming an exploratory committee and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is also considering a run.

Analyst John Fortier predicts that two names will dominate the crowded Democratic presidential field in the months ahead.

 
Hillary Clinton (file photo)
"You still have a very strong candidate on the Democratic side in Hillary Clinton and then the very interesting revelation of Barack Obama hinting that he will throw his hat in the ring," he said. "I think that is going to keep a lot of the other people out of the news and those two will dominate."

Many experts believe that Democratic gains in the 2006 congressional elections indicate that voters will be looking for political moderates when they decide on presidential candidates in 2008.

"So, I think winners out of this campaign include [Massachusetts Republican Governor] Mitt Romney and [Illinois Democratic Senator] Barack Obama, people who can go out there as presidential candidates and offer some promise of transcending¹³ these tribal¹⁴ differences [between the parties] are going to have a little bit of a leg up [an advantage]," said Norman Ornstein, an author and longtime observer of U.S. politics.

Most of those considering a presidential bid are expected to make a final decision on running early next year. The presidential nominating caucuses¹⁵ and primaries begin in January of 2008.

1 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》

2 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。

3 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。

4 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

7 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

8 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

9 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

10 crossfire   

n.被卷进争端

参考例句：

• They say they are caught in the crossfire between the education establishment and the government.他们称自己被卷进了教育机构与政府之间的争端。
• When two industrial giants clash,small companies can get caught in the crossfire.两大工业企业争斗之下，小公司遭受池鱼之殃。

11 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

12 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

13 transcending   

超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的现在分词 )； 优于或胜过…

参考例句：

• She felt herself transcending time and space. 她感到自己正在穿越时空。
• It'serves as a skeptical critic of the self-transcending element. 它对于超越自身因素起着一个怀疑论批评家的作用。

14 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

15 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网