2007年VOA标准英语-US Republican Presidential Hopefuls Debate Iraq

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
04 May 2007

Republican presidential candidates debated the war in Iraq, taxes and terrorism in a wide-ranging exchange Thursday evening. Mike O'Sullivan reports, 10 Republicans faced off in their first debate of the campaign in Simi Valley, California.

Ten republican presidential hopefuls answer questions during first primary debate of 2008 election, 03 May 2007

Most candidates supported the U.S. military effort in Iraq, while also calling for a political settlement. Arizona Senator John McCain said there will be chaos¹ and genocide if the United States withdraws its troops. He supports the troop increase now being implemented² under General David Petraeus, but says the war was mishandled.

"The war was terribly mismanaged, and we now have to fix a lot of the mistakes that were made," McCain said, adding that "Books have been written, but we have a new strategy and a new general, and these young men and women are committed to winning."

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt³ Romney said he wants to bring the troops home as soon as possible, but not so quickly that they would need to go back.

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee said the president should have fired former secretary of defense⁴ Donald Rumsfeld before elections last year that led to Democratic victories in Congress. Rumsfeld resigned shortly after the election.

"Clearly, there was a real error in judgment⁵, and that primarily had to do with listening to a lot of folks who were civilians⁶ in suits and silk ties and not listening enough to the generals with mud and blood on their boots and medals on their chest," Huckabee said.

In a fast-paced debate, the candidates agreed on a number of topics, from reducing taxes to the need to address Iran's nuclear ambitions.

They also touched on issues that divide them, such as abortion⁷. Most said they would welcome a repeal⁸ of Roe⁹ versus¹⁰ Wade¹¹, a 1973 Supreme¹² Court decision that legalized abortion. Former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani said it is OK with him if the court upholds the ruling as a precedent¹³, and OK if the court repeals¹⁴ it.

Rudolph Giuliani (file photo)

The exchange was held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, in Simi Valley, California. Former first lady Nancy Reagan was in the audience. Giuliani was one of several candidates who invoked¹⁵ the memory of the popular president.

"And what we can borrow from Ronald Reagan, since we are in his library, is that great sense of optimism that he had. He led by building on the strengths of America, not running America down," Giulliani said

Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas says Republicans can choose from among many good candidates, who are focusing on the issues.

"And that's what I love about this, is that we've got a chance to debate ideas, and we win as a party when we run on ideas, big ideas and principles. And you're seeing these articulated here, and that is why we are going to win in 2008," he said.

Rudolph Giuliani is the frontrunner in polls of Republican voters, with John McCain and Mitt Romney trailing him. However, eight months remain before the first party primaries and caucuses¹⁶ that will select the delegates for the Republican Party's nominating convention.

1 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

2 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 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。

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 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。

8 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

9 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

10 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

11 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

12 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

13 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

14 repeals   

撤销，废除( repeal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The measure repeals a previous law that prevented local governments from targeting specific breeds for sterilization. 这项法令的出台将废止之前一项限制地方政府针对某种犬类采用绝育措施的法律。

15 invoked   

v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• It is unlikely that libel laws will be invoked. 不大可能诉诸诽谤法。
• She had invoked the law in her own defence. 她援引法律为自己辩护。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 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