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VOA常速英语2008年-Democrats Worry about Divisive US Presidential

时间:2008-03-29 05:36来源:互联网 提供网友:jassica   字体: [ ]
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)
By Jim Malone
Washington
27 March 2008

In the U.S. presidential race, a growing number of Democrats1 are worried that the long and bitter nomination2 fight between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton may be helping3 the presumptive Republican candidate, Senator John McCain.  VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more on the strains within the Democratic Party from Washington.

Some Democrats, many of them Obama supporters, argue there is no way that Hillary Clinton can overtake Barack Obama in the delegate count, and they want her to step aside for the good of the party.

But out on the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton says voters are telling her just the opposite.

"The most common thing that people say to me, it happened here, it happened last night, it happens everywhere now, is do not give up," she said.  "Keep going.  We are with you."

Obama leads Clinton in the delegate count by more than 100.  Most political experts give Clinton little chance of pulling ahead of Obama in the remaining primaries and caucuses4 because Democrats award delegates on a proportional basis, making it difficult for challengers to make up ground on the delegate leader.

Clinton is favored in the next primary in Pennsylvania.  But Obama remains5 confident that he will win his share of the remaining 10 nominating contests that run into June and will emerge victorious6 at the Democrat's national nominating convention in August.

"We will win this nomination, we will win the general election, and, you and I together, we will change this country and we will change the world," he said.

New polls suggest the lengthy7 and increasingly bitter Democratic nomination fight could hurt the party in the November election.

An NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll has Obama and Clinton tied at 45 percent in a national survey, but also showed a spike8 in negative views of Senator Clinton.  Of those asked, 48 percent had a negative view of Clinton, compared to 37 percent who see her favorably.  Obama's numbers were 49 percent positive and 32 percent negative.

In addition, a new Gallup poll suggests the presumptive Republican nominee9, Senator John McCain, is reaping benefits from the Democrat's infighting.

A total of 19 percent of Obama supporters said they would vote for McCain if Clinton were the Democratic nominee, while 28 percent of Clinton supporters said they would defect to McCain if Obama wins the nomination.

Most political analysts10 believe that the only way Clinton can win the Democratic nomination is for her to continue to attack Obama in the months to come and hope for support from so called super delegates, uncommitted office holders11 and party activists12 who will vote at the convention.

But experts warn that would likely rip the Democratic Party apart.

Norm Ornstein is a longtime political scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

"So, for Mrs. Clinton, to get to the end of this nominating process if she is behind in elected delegates, overall delegates, popular votes cast nationwide and states, it is hard to imagine a Democratic Party that would nominate her under those circumstances because that would be a genuinely Pyrrhic [costly] victory," he explained.

Some of the super delegates want to prevent the Obama-Clinton battle from continuing all the way to the convention in August.

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen is an uncommitted super delegate.  Bredesen has proposed that the Democratic super delegates who have yet to commit to a candidate meet in June to settle the fight once and for all.

"If we go on through the summer with all these things happening behind the scenes, I think it is a terrible image for the party," he said.  "Part of the idea of doing it in a public way in June is let us get them together, let us have them listen to the candidates, let us have them publicly declare where they are and let us get out of that backroom mode."

Both Clinton and Obama have had to deal with potentially damaging controversies13 in recent days.

Clinton acknowledged that she misspoke when she exaggerated the dangers of a trip to Bosnia as First Lady in 1996.

Obama sought to distance himself from the racial and anti-American statements of his former pastor14, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

New polls suggest Obama's speech on race dealing15 with Wright last week may have limited damage in the short term.  But many Republican strategists believe Wright will be a liability for Obama if he faces McCain in the general election.

Weekly Standard editor Fred Barnes is a frequent guest on VOA's Issues in the News program.

Barnes says some Republicans now believe Obama would be a weaker opponent than Clinton in the general election.

"They have always assumed up until very recently that Hillary Clinton would be the perfect candidate for them, the Republicans, to run against, because they think she unites the Republican Party and so on," he said.  "Now with the Jeremiah Wright affair and Barack Obama, they are not so sure.  They think Obama might be an easier candidate to beat."

In terms of general election match-ups, the NBC Wall Street Journal poll shows Obama edging McCain by 44 to 42 percent, while McCain defeats Clinton by a margin16 of 46 to 44 percent.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 democrats 655beefefdcaf76097d489a3ff245f76     
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》
2 nomination BHMxw     
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。
3 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
4 caucuses d49ca95184fa2aef8e2ee3b613a6f7dd     
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
5 remains 1kMzTy     
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。
6 victorious hhjwv     
adj.胜利的,得胜的
参考例句:
  • We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
  • The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。
7 lengthy f36yA     
adj.漫长的,冗长的
参考例句:
  • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
  • The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。
8 spike lTNzO     
n.长钉,钉鞋;v.以大钉钉牢,使...失效
参考例句:
  • The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
  • They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。
9 nominee FHLxv     
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。
10 analysts 167ff30c5034ca70abe2d60a6e760448     
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。
11 holders 79c0e3bbb1170e3018817c5f45ebf33f     
支持物( holder的名词复数 ); 持有者; (支票等)持有人; 支托(或握持)…之物
参考例句:
  • Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
  • It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识,才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事,同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。
12 activists 90fd83cc3f53a40df93866d9c91bcca4     
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
  • Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 controversies 31fd3392f2183396a23567b5207d930c     
争论
参考例句:
  • We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议,我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
  • The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句
14 pastor h3Ozz     
n.牧师,牧人
参考例句:
  • He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
  • We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师:教会的事是由五位执事管理的。
15 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
16 margin 67Mzp     
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘
参考例句:
  • We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
  • The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
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