VOA常速英语2007-Major Third Party Candidate in 2008 Election Dou

By Jim Malone
Washington
26 October 2007

Some conservative activists¹ have raised the prospect² of a third party candidate in next year's U.S. presidential election if former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani becomes the Republican Party nominee³.  In the fifth and final part of his series on the 2008 election, National correspondent Jim Malone looks at the possibility of one or more major third party candidates making a run for the White House next year.  

It does not happen often, but every once in a while a third party candidate has had an impact on U.S. presidential politics.

Larry Sabato directs the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

"Look at American history.  We have third party candidates that are significant about once every five elections," he noted⁴.  "Now we had a very significant independent in 1992, Ross Perot.  We had a minor⁵ third party candidate who determined⁶ the result in 2000, Ralph Nader.  He gave the election from Al Gore⁷ to George W. Bush.  He tilted⁸ both Florida and New Hampshire to Bush.  All Gore needed was one of those two states to win.  So, even minor third party candidates can determine the results of a presidential election."

Some moderates believe there might be an opening for a centrist third party candidate next year if both major political parties nominate polarizing candidates who appeal to the extreme right and extreme left.

Hamilton Jordan served as President Jimmy Carter's White House chief of staff.

He is now involved in a centrist effort called Unity⁹ '08 that seeks to offer a bipartisan presidential ticket in next year's election.

"We are people that are not satisfied with the current political system, not satisfied with the status quo and are working to offer the American voters an alternative in 2008," he said.

The problem, according to Professor Sabato, is attracting the right kind of candidate to make a third party bid.

"You have to have somebody who is willing to run, who is well known, who has political experience, and who either has personal money or access to a lot of money to make a serious run at a third party or independent bid," said Mr. Sabato.

Even then, the chance of actually winning the election seems remote.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich recently decided¹⁰ against a bid for the Republican Party's presidential nomination¹¹ next year.

"With the singular exception of Theodore Roosevelt, no third party candidate since the 1850's has had a serious chance of winning," he noted.

Some social conservative leaders have raised the possibility of running a third party candidate if Rudy Giuliani is the Republican Party nominee.  They disagree with Giuliani's support for abortion¹² rights, gay rights and gun control.

Georgetown University political expert Stephen Wayne says that could be bad news for the Giuliani campaign.

"That candidate will only do well in rural and Republican areas, which will hurt Giuliani," he said.  "I think the idea of running an independent candidate was an attempt to stop Giuliani.  But I do agree with the general feeling that a third party, Christian¹³ right candidate is going to take votes away from Giuliani."

American University analyst¹⁴ Allan Lichtman thinks otherwise.

"Social conservatives have been threatening that for decades and it has never manifested itself," he said.  "They had a chance when [conservative] Pat Buchanan ran as the Reform Party nominee, but he got less than one percent of the vote and was an absolutely non-factor in the election."

Some Democrats¹⁵ are concerned that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg might launch an independent bid for the White House next year, possibly drawing enough votes away from the Democratic candidate to swing the election to the Republican nominee.

Bloomberg has appeal for moderates from both political parties.  But analyst John Fortier of the American Enterprise Institute sees little opening for a Bloomberg candidacy.

"Democrats are pretty happy with their candidates," he explained.  "Many of those states in the Northeast are pretty safely Democratic.  I do not see a lot of longing¹⁶ for Michael Bloomberg to get in the race."

While the likelihood of a well-known third party challenge in 2008 seems remote, plenty of other smaller parties will offer presidential candidates including the Constitution Party, the Green Party, the Libertarian Party and the Socialist¹⁷ Party.

1 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》

2 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

3 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。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

8 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

9 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

10 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。

11 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。

12 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

13 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

14 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。

15 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》

16 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

17 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。