VOA常速英语2008年-Obama Rejects Idea of Becoming Clinton's Runnin

By Jim Malone
Washington
10 March 2008

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama forcefully rejected the idea of running as Hillary Clinton's vice² presidential running mate Monday. Obama's comments came in the wake of suggestions from the Clinton campaign that the two candidates form a dream ticket, with Clinton in the top spot. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington.

Campaigning in Mississippi in advance of Tuesday's primary, Obama left no doubt that he rejects the idea of joining a ticket in which he would agree to be the vice presidential running mate of Hillary Clinton.

"With all due respect, I have won twice as many states as Senator Clinton," said Obama. "I have won more of the popular vote than Senator Clinton. I have more delegates than Senator Clinton. So, I do not know how somebody who is in second place is offering the vice presidency³ to the person who is in first place."

Obama's comments came after remarks from Hillary Clinton last week suggesting the possibility of the two rivals running together on the same ticket, with Clinton in the top spot.

"I have had people say, I wish I could vote for both of you," she said. "Well, that might be possible someday."

Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, also promoted the idea, noting that each contender would bring strengths to a combined ticket.

"He would win the urban areas and the upscale voters, and she wins the traditional rural areas that we lost when President Reagan was president," he said. "If you put those two things together, you have an almost unstoppable force."

Clinton and Obama are engaged in a close battle for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination⁴. Obama continues to lead the delegate count by about 100 following his victory Saturday in the Wyoming caucuses⁵.

Obama is favored to do well in the Mississippi primary on Tuesday, while Clinton hopes to regain⁶ her momentum⁷ with a victory in the Pennsylvania primary on April 22. Opinion polls there give her the lead.

Clinton has questioned whether Obama is ready to serve as president and commander in chief, and that line of attack may have helped her win last week's primaries in Texas and Ohio.

But Obama tried to turn that around Monday by asking why would Clinton want him as her vice presidential running mate if he is not fit to serve as commander in chief?

"Getting all the [retired] generals to say, well, we are not sure he is ready," he said. "I am ready on day one. He may not be ready yet. But I do not understand. If I am not ready, how is it that you think I should be such a great vice president? Do you understand that?"

The Clinton camp had suggested that a combined ticket would be formidable against the presumed Republican nominee⁸, Senator John McCain. But Obama told supporters Monday in Mississippi that Democrats⁹ must choose between the two of them for the party nomination.

Political experts believe the idea of a joint¹⁰ ticket, in either combination, could remain viable¹¹ if the Democratic race remains¹² close right up until the national nominating convention in Denver in late August.

John Fortier is an expert on U.S. politics at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington and a recent guest on VOA's Encounter program.

"The bitterness also will be interesting to watch if we really do come to a very, very close resolution where the candidates feel that they have to come together as a ticket," said Fortier. "It is in some ways unbelievable that they would come together, and yet in other ways it seems almost the way to resolve those differences. And that will be a drama, if it plays out that way, that we will be watching in June or July."

Political rivals have joined forces in the past after bitter presidential campaigns with positive results. Republican candidate Ronald Reagan chose George H.W. Bush as his running mate in 1980, and Democrat¹ John Kennedy did the same in 1960 when he picked Lyndon Johnson as his vice presidential candidate.

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 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 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

4 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。

5 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

6 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

7 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

8 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。

9 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》

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

12 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。