2007年VOA标准英语-Democratic Candidate Vilsack Abandons US Presid

By Jim Malone
Washington
23 February 2007

Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack announced Friday that he is abandoning his bid for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination² next year. Vilsack and other Democratic contenders have been overshadowed so far by the candidacies of Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in a campaign that is being dominated by the war in Iraq. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.

 
Tom Vilsack with his wife and sons at his side, speaks at a press conference in Des Moines, Iowa, 23 Feb 2007 
Vilsack said the demands of raising large amounts of campaign donations as he competed against better known Democratic rivals was the major reason he decided³ to quit the race for the White House.

"Today I am announcing that we are ending this presidential campaign," he said.

Political analysts⁵ say the media focus on Clinton and Obama, who lead in public opinion polls, made it increasingly difficult for Vilsack to gain public visibility and raise money, two essentials for a successful presidential run.

Just a few days ago at a Democratic candidates forum⁶ in Nevada, Vilsack argued that the United States should begin an immediate⁷ troop withdrawal⁸ from Iraq.

"What have you done today to end this war in Iraq? It needs to be ended now," he said. "Not six days from now, not six months from now, not six years from now. It needs to be ended now and it's up to you."

Iraq remains⁹ the key issue among Democrats¹⁰ running for the White House and the contenders have staked out a wide variety of positions on the conflict.

 
Joseph Biden
Among those Democrats who oppose an immediate withdrawal from Iraq is Delaware Senator Joe Biden. Biden believes the U.S. must take more time to stabilize¹¹ Iraq before U.S. troops can leave.

"But ladies and gentlemen, if that civil war metastasizes into a regional war, we are going to be sending your grandchildren back," he said.

Some Democrats running for president have also made a point of saying they made a mistake when they supported President Bush's request to use force in Iraq back in 2002, in advance of the war launched in 2003.

"It was a mistake, in my view, to vote the way we did five years ago on that [use of force] resolution," said Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd.

 
John Edwards, 2 Feb 2007
Another candidate who says he made a mistake in supporting the force resolution is former North Carolina Senator John Edwards. Edwards says those who initially¹² supported the Iraq war should now admit they were wrong.

"We need a leader who will be open and honest with you and with the American people, who will tell the truth," he said. "Who will tell the truth when they have made a mistake, who will take responsibility when they have made a mistake."

Analysts believe Edwards' pointed¹³ remarks are directed at New York Senator Hillary Clinton. Clinton has refused demands from some of her rivals that she admit her 2002 vote in support of the war was a mistake.

"My vote was a sincere vote based on the facts and assurances that I had at the time," she said.

 
Barack Obama
Illinois Senator Barack Obama did not attend the Nevada event. Obama was not in the U.S. Senate for the Iraq debate but opposed the war as a state senator in Illinois. Obama and several other Democratic candidates favor a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

The Obama and Clinton campaigns have exchanged angry statements in recent days over comments made by former Clinton supporter David Geffen. Geffen is a prominent Hollywood film and music producer and criticized Hillary Clinton in the New York Times and said he was supporting Obama for president.

One of the other candidates in the Democratic race, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, is urging his fellow Democrats to run positive campaigns, both against each other and against the record of the Bush administration.

"We just cannot criticize the president," he said. "There is plenty to criticize. But we should advance our own policies, our own solutions. What is our plan on Iraq? What is our plan on education?"

The early campaign activity has taken some analysts by surprise. But Tom DeFrank of the New York Daily News told VOA's Issues in the News program that optimism among Democrats about their chances next year is driving the early fundraising activity and debate.

"The Democrats smell that is going to be their year in 2008," he said. "They think the odds¹⁴ are strong that the next president will be a Democrat¹, so that ups the stakes on the Democratic side."

Iowa and New Hampshire will kick off the presidential selection process next January. Political analyst⁴ Charlie Cook says it is vital for serious presidential contenders to get off to a strong start early next year.

Cook spoke¹⁵ on the C-SPAN public affairs TV network.

 
Hillary Rodham Clinton in Davenport, Iowa, 28 Jan 2007
"Iowa and New Hampshire are hugely, hugely important," he said. "And if you do not come in first or second in Iowa, the odds are you are not going to come in first or second in New Hampshire. And if you have not come in first or second in one of those two, I think your chances of winning either party's [presidential] nomination are under five percent."

On the Democratic side, polls indicate the top contenders at the moment are Senators Clinton and Obama and former Senator Edwards.

In the Republican race, surveys show the top three candidates are former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Arizona Senator John McCain and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt¹⁶ Romney.

1 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。

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 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。

4 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。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

9 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。

10 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》

11 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

12 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

13 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

14 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

15 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。

16 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。