VOA常速英语2007年-Giuliani Wins Endorsement of Key Christian Cons

By Jim Malone
Washington
07 November 2007

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani picked up a potentially important endorsement¹ in his bid to win the Republican Party's presidential nomination² next year. VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington.

Giuliani is getting a boost from the Reverend Pat Robertson, a prominent Christian³ leader and social onservative activist⁴ who founded the Christian Coalition⁵ and the Christian Broadcasting Network.

Robertson announced his endorsement in a joint⁶ appearance with Giuliani in Washington.

"A proven leader who is not afraid of what lies ahead and will cast a hopeful vision for all Americans," said Robertson. "Rudy Giuliani stood tall as his city was rocked by the worst terrorist act in America's history."

Robertson is respected by many conservative Evangelical Christians⁷ but is also known for making controversial statements. For example, following the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Robertson said Americans had left themselves vulnerable because they had insulted God by allowing abortion⁸ and pornography.

The Robertson endorsement could be significant as Giuliani tries to build bridges with social conservatives who disagree with the former mayor's support for abortion and gay rights.

Giuliani leads the Republican presidential field, but his rivals continue to try to chip away at his advantage in the polls by highlighting his disagreements with conservatives over social policy.

Giuliani welcomed the Robertson endorsement as part of an effort to unify⁹ the Republican Party behind his candidacy.

"I hope it sends the message that we have the same goals, all of us in the Republican Party," said Giuliani. "There are always some disagreements about means, but the reality is that this underscores the point that I made from the beginning of my candidacy, I think speaking in California, when I cited Ronald Reagan's advice to us that my 80 percent friend is not my 20 percent enemy."

Robertson made no mention of his past differences with Giuliani over social issues. Robertson ran for president in 1988 as a Republican.

Meanwhile, Giuliani rival John McCain also had an endorsement to announce.

McCain picked up the support of Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas. Brownback is a social conservative who dropped out of the Republican presidential race last month after a poor showing in a test vote in Iowa.

Like Giuliani, McCain has a history of clashes with social conservatives within the Republican Party.

Some experts believe social and religious conservatives will be more open to moderates in 2008 in hopes of keeping the White House in Republican hands.

Dan Bartlett is a former top aide to President Bush who recently gave an assessment¹⁰ of the Republican presidential battle in Washington.

"Republicans, I believe, are terrified about losing the presidency¹¹ after losing Congress. I think this is going to be the season of the pragmatic Republican voter," Bartlett said. "That bodes¹² well for Rudy and it gives McCain a shot."

The latest polls show Giuliani continues to lead the Republican field while Hillary Clinton remains¹³ well ahead of her rivals for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

Head-to-head polls, which are often unreliable one year before the election, give Clinton a narrow lead over Giuliani if the election were held today.

1 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

2 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。

3 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。

4 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

5 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

8 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。

9 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

10 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

11 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。

12 bodes   

v.预示，预告，预言( bode的第三人称单数 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待

参考例句：

• This bodes ill for the failure of the programme. 这是那项计划有凶兆。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• This bodes him no good. 这对他是不祥之兆。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。