2007年VOA标准英语-US 2008 Presidential Field Expands Quickly

By Jim Malone
Washington
29 January 2007

Two more presidential contenders are moving ahead with plans to join the 2008 race for the White House this week. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has taken the first step toward seeking the Republican presidential nomination¹ while Senator Joe Biden is expected to formally join the field of Democratic candidates already in the race. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has the latest on the early campaigning from Washington.

 
Hillary Rodham Clinton waves during a press conference at Central High School in Davenport, Iowa, 28 Jan 2007
The woman seen as the frontrunner in the race for the Democratic Party presidential nomination is New York Senator Hillary Clinton.

She recently made her first trip as a candidate to the early contest state of Iowa.

"I know there are people who either say or wonder, would we ever elect a woman president? And I do not think we will know until we try," she said. "And I am going to try and with your help, I think we can do it."

Senator Clinton has been pressed to defend her vote in favor of the war in Iraq back in 2002, a war the vast majority of Democrats³ now see as a mistake.

"She [Clinton] is getting a lot of publicity⁴ from Iraq, not all of it favorable," said John Harris, editor in chief of the Politico, a new Website devoted⁵ to U.S. politics, who spoke⁶ on CBS television. "She has made clear that she is opposed to President Bush's proposed troop buildup, but a lot of activists⁷ in her own party would like her to be more assertive⁸, more aggressive in an anti-war stand."

The Iowa caucuses⁹ will initiate¹⁰ the 2008 presidential selection process about a year from now. Contenders from both major parties will be spending a lot of time in Iowa in the months ahead and in other early contest states like New Hampshire, which will host the first presidential primary.

 
Barack Obama
At the moment, the Democratic race seems to be shaping up as a battle between Senator Clinton and Barack Obama of Illinois, the only African-American in the Senate.

Obama is expected to formally announce his candidacy on February 10. As part of his campaign, Obama recently proposed an expansion of health care benefits to cover all Americans within six years.

"America can no longer afford inaction," he said. "That is not who we are as a country. That is not who we are as a people. That has never been the story of our nation's improbable march toward progress."

Obama is in his first term in the Senate and some experts question whether he has enough experience to be president.

"The experience issue cuts both ways," said Larry Sabato, who directs the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. "On the one hand, people may consider Barack Obama too inexperienced to have the awesome¹¹ power of the presidency¹². On the other hand, in running for the office, it actually helps to have little experience because there is so little to attack."

Several other Democrats are hoping to disrupt the conventional wisdom of the moment that says the race is between Clinton and Obama.

 
Joseph Biden
Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards leads the Democratic field in several public opinion polls in Iowa, and veteran Democratic senators like Joe Biden of Delaware and Chris Dodd of Connecticut are hoping to break through to the public as well.

In addition, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is mounting a bid for the nomination along with former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and Ohio Congressman¹³ Dennis Kucinich.

One Democrat² who will not join the race is Senator John Kerry, the party's 2004 presidential nominee¹⁴ who narrowly lost the election to President Bush. Kerry said recently he will seek re-election to the Senate instead.

Despite the wealth of experienced Democratic candidates, experts like Stephen Hess of the Brookings Institution say it will be difficult for the others to overcome the media attention being given to Senators Clinton and Obama.

"His [Obama] entering it becomes a two person race," he said. "It becomes Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and that is the way the story will be framed and an awful lot of pretty good people, because it is a pretty good bench as far as other candidates, United States Senators and governors, really will not have much oxygen. They will be there in case Hillary or Barack slip on a banana peel."

 
Mike Huckabee (file photo) 
The Republican field is starting to look equally crowded. In addition to former Governor Huckabee, others who have taken steps to run in 2008 include Arizona Senator John McCain, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt¹⁵ Romney, former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore and former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson.

In addition, Kansas Senator Sam Brownback and Congressmen Duncan Hunter of California and Tom Tancredo of Colorado have also said they are in the hunt for the Republican presidential nomination.

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 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》

4 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

5 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。

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 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 assertive   

adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的

参考例句：

• She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
• China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。

9 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

10 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

11 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

12 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

13 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。

14 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。

15 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。