VOA标准英语10月-Tone of US Presidential Campaigns Sharpens

With roughly one month to go until Election Day in the United States, the two major presidential campaigns are stepping up their attacks on each other. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports from Washington.
　

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin talks to supporters during a rally in Carson, California, 4 Oct. 2008

The tone turned harder this weekend when Republican vice² presidential nominee³ Sarah Palin launched a new line of attack on Barack Obama.

"Our opponent is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal¹ around with terrorists who targeted their own country," she said.

She was speaking about Obama's association with William Ayres, a college professor who founded a radical⁴ group called the Weather Underground in the 1960s.

The group claimed responsibility for bombings on several government buildings as a form of protest during the Vietnam War. Ayres never refuted the claims, but was also never convicted, and later went on to an academic career in Chicago that brought him into contact with Barack Obama.

Ayres hosted a fundraiser more than a decade ago when Obama was running for the Illinois state senate, and they served together on a charity board. But Obama says they were never close and could hardly be called pals⁵.

It is not unusual for vice presidential candidates in the United States to use tough rhetoric⁶, enabling the presidential nominees⁷ to stay above the fray⁸. Both Governor Palin and Democratic Senator Joe Biden have done so before and likely will again.

But Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri says these particular comments are a sign the McCain campaign is trying to divert attention from the economy. She appeared on the Fox News Sunday television program.

"Do they really think that America is going to think that Barack Obama is palling⁹ around with terrorists? What that man did, Barack Obama has condemned," she said. "And by the way, he did it when Barack Obama was eight years old!"

But McCain supporters in Congress say the Republican candidate is right to raise questions about Obama's character.

Republican Senator Mel Martinez - from the battleground state of Florida - told ABC's This Week that these are legitimate¹⁰ concerns. He stressed Obama came into contact with Ayres at a time when he was just launching his career in politics.

"It is about his judgment¹¹ and who he associated with during those years and right on into this political campaign," he said.
　

Sen. Barack Obama speaks at the annual Vance-Aycock Dinner in Asheville, North Carolina, 4 Oct. 2008

The morning after the Palin comments, the Obama campaign struck back with a new television ad, targeting John McCain's temperament¹², and calling into question his behavior during Congressional deliberations on the financial crisis.

"Our financial system [is] in turmoil¹³, and John McCain [was] erratic¹⁴ and out of touch on the economy. No matter his campaign wants to change the subject," the ad says.

Ads from both candidates are expected to intensify¹⁵ and perhaps grow more negative in tone as Election Day approaches. Latest voter surveys show Obama currently in the lead, but in a campaign full of twists and turns, analysts¹⁶ say anything can happen between now and November 4.

1 pal   

n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友

参考例句：

• He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
• Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

2 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。

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 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

5 pals   

n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙

参考例句：

• We've been pals for years. 我们是多年的哥们儿了。
• CD 8 positive cells remarkably increased in PALS and RP(P CD8+细胞在再生脾PALS和RP内均明显增加(P 来自互联网

6 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

7 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

8 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。

9 palling   

v.（因过多或过久而）生厌，感到乏味，厌烦( pall的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• It's good to see the two boys palling up so well. 看见这两个男孩这么要好真是惬意。 来自互联网

10 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

11 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。

12 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

13 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

14 erratic   

adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的

参考例句：

• The old man had always been cranky and erratic.那老头儿性情古怪,反复无常。
• The erratic fluctuation of market prices is in consequence of unstable economy.经济波动致使市场物价忽起忽落。

15 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

16 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。