2007年VOA标准英语-Democrat Edwards Appeals to Progressives in Sec

By Jim Fry
Washington
07 September 2007
 

The man the Democratic Party nominated for vice¹ president in 2004 is running for president now.  John Edwards of North Carolina -- the son of a mill worker, a successful trial lawyer and former U.S. senator -- faces tough odds² in his quest for the top job. VOA's Jim Fry profiles the charismatic, youthful looking candidate.

Federation3 of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) during its National Leadership Conference in Washington, DC, 19 June, 2007 " hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070914/0910360.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

John Edwards addresses the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) during its National Leadership Conference in Washington, DC, 19 June, 2007

In July, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards traveled to some of America's poorest places.  Here in Cleveland, in the midwestern state of Ohio, he walked through a neighborhood and pointed⁴ out that 37 million Americans live in poverty.

And at a rally in neighboring Kentucky, he said to a crowd, "With our wealth and our prosperity, it is absolutely wrong.  Morally wrong."

Edwards -- with his focus on poverty, universal health care and the influence of wealthy special interests -- attempts to appeal to Democratic Party progressives.

Larry Sabato is director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. He says liberals tend to control the Democratic Party's nominating process. "Edwards is running flat out for the nomination⁵ and he'll worry about the general election later.  He is running well to the left of where he ran in 2004, because he has to.  His key constituency is labor⁶."

Edwards has been courting union workers for at least a year -- bringing his message to union halls and picket⁷ lines. In April, he became the first Democratic candidate to spend one day with a union member -- here working alongside nurse's aide Elaine Ellis.

Union President Andy Stern had asked each candidate to walk a day in the shoes of a member of the Service Employees International Union. "So he really has banked a lot [on this issue] and done a lot for people who are in crisis in America and we admire him for it," said Stern.

Edwards tells Democratic audiences of his humble⁸ childhood in a small South Carolina town as the son of a mill worker. He became a rich trial lawyer by winning judgments⁹ against big corporations. That success lead to a North Carolina U.S. Senate seat in 1998.

Edwards ended up as John Kerry's choice for vice president on the 2004 losing Democratic ticket.  And so he began a new campaign seemingly from a position of strength.

Presidential research fellow John Fortier says, "But he has not shown that [strength] in the national polls.  He has not raised as much money as Obama and Clinton.  He's far behind.  He polls on the low side."

Edwards -- running third in opinion polls among Democrats¹⁰ -- has consistently trailed far behind former first lady, Senator Hillary Clinton and the youthful Senator Barak Obama.

"I am the underdog.  I am fighting.  I like that place, it's always worked very well for me.  It is sort of the story of my life," says Edwards.

He relies on his wife of 30 years, Elizabeth. She is considered a shrewd political tactician¹¹ and has taken a very public role in his campaign, despite the recurrence¹² this year of her cancer.

Edwards has spent a lot of time in Iowa, the state that holds the nation's first caucus¹³ [political contest for delegates] where he did well in 2004. 

Edwards led in early public opinion polls, but is now in a tight three-way race in a state Larry Sabato says he must win. "Even a close second doesn't count.  And if he doesn't win Iowa, he's out."

In recent months, those who follow the campaign say union workers and Democratic stalwarts have heard a more strident, even angry, message from Edwards.

"You want to know why you don't have universal health care?  Because of drug companies, insurance companies, and their lobbyists."

 "He is finding his voice about what he believes in,” thinks Andy Stern. “Maybe it's too angry at times as some would say, but I think it's truthful¹⁴. You know -- and I think, no one is going to doubt that we're seeing the real John Edwards at the moment."

Whether his focus on working people and the downtrodden will be enough, Democrats in early caucuses¹⁵ and primaries will decide around the first of the year.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 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？

3 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

4 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。

5 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。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 picket   

n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫

参考例句：

• They marched to the factory and formed a picket.他们向工厂前进,并组成了纠察队。
• Some of the union members did not want to picket.工会的一些会员不想担任罢工纠察员。

8 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

9 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

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 tactician   

n. 战术家, 策士

参考例句：

• This was why an airport manager needed to be a tactician as well as versatile administrator. 因此，一个空港经理必须既是一个计谋家，又是一个能应付各种情况的行政管理家。
• The skillful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. 故善用兵者，譬如率然。

12 recurrence   

n.复发，反复，重现

参考例句：

• More care in the future will prevent recurrence of the mistake.将来的小心可防止错误的重现。
• He was aware of the possibility of a recurrence of his illness.他知道他的病有可能复发。

13 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

14 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

15 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