VOA常速英语2008年-US Presidential Candidates Use Commercial Marke

By Jeffrey Young
Washington
22 February 2008
 

Voters in the United States are presented with a number of so-called "purchase decisions" in the course of the presidential election process. In this segment of "How America Elects," VOA's Jeffrey Young looks at how campaigns mold and package their candidates for their White House bid.

U.S. presidential candidates market to the public their personal integrity and their policy positions, much the same as selling a consumer product such as pizza or a car. It's political marketing¹.

On February 10, 2007, Senator Barack Obama announces his bid to be the Democratic Party's presidential nominee² this way:  "This campaign has to be about the reclaiming³ of the meaning of citizenship⁴."

The event in Springfield, Illinois has been turned into a campaign video. Everything seen in that video -- smiling faces of many colors, cheering crowds, the Senator speaking stirring words -- is deliberately⁵ put there to build enthusiasm and support for his candidacy.

One Obama supporter says, "I will walk to [the state of] Iowa, if I have to, to help this man [Obama]." Another supporter says, "We need this guy. Our nation needs this guy."

The process of persuading voters is outlined by analyst⁶ Brian Darling at the independent research group The Heritage Foundation in Washington.

"One [level] is making the candidate likeable -- making the candidate someone the voters would want to vote for because they like the candidate. But also, it is very important that these candidates voice principles that are very interesting and acceptable to the voters," Darling said. 

And package those positions in straightforward⁷ ways voters can easily remember, says Democratic media strategist Peter Fenn. "It should be clear, it should be concise⁸, it should connect with voters, it should contrast with your opponent -- your strengths over your opponent's weaknesses. It should be continual. It should be repeated and repeated and repeated." he said.

In order to generate excitement for a candidate, strategists fashion slogans that are catchy⁹ and convey the candidate's positions -- and can fit on a car bumper¹⁰ sticker.

Brian Darling cites examples from present and past elections, "You look at President Bill Clinton, [and the phrase was] 'It's the economy, stupid.' You look at President George [H.W.] Bush the first, and it was 'Read my lips - no new taxes.' So, you have all these catchy phrases. And, Barack Obama is using a phrase now -- 'Change," he said.

Political marketing has to create and carefully manage that wave of excitement to crest¹¹ at the moment when voters make their purchase decision. "Timing¹² is everything in politics. It is true with the giving of speeches. It is true of the rallies [for the candidate]. It is true of your 'get out the vote' operation. It's like a graph. You just want to build, build, build, build, build, and then hit your peak on Election Day," Fenn said.

But to win the White House, both the Democratic and Republican parties have to do more than march their own motivated members to the polls. The parties must also reach out to people who are independent and vote for whomever they see as the best candidate. Ultimately, it is the people in the middle, not the left or the right, who will determine the next president.

1 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

2 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。

3 reclaiming   

v.开拓( reclaim的现在分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• People here are reclaiming land from the sea. 这儿的人们正在填海拓地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• How could such a man need reclaiming? 这么一个了不起的人怎么还需要别人拯救呢？ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

4 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

5 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

6 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。

7 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

8 concise   

adj.简洁的，简明的

参考例句：

• The explanation in this dictionary is concise and to the point.这部词典里的释义简明扼要。
• I gave a concise answer about this.我对于此事给了一个简要的答复。

9 catchy   

adj.易记住的，诡诈的，易使人上当的

参考例句：

• We need a new slogan.The old one's not catchy enough.我们需要新的口号，旧的不够吸引人。
• The chorus is very catchy to say the least.副歌部分很容易上口。

10 bumper   

n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的

参考例句：

• The painting represents the scene of a bumper harvest.这幅画描绘了丰收的景象。
• This year we have a bumper harvest in grain.今年我们谷物丰收。

11 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

12 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。