VOA标准英语2008年-Obama Tells McCain Not to Question His Patrioti

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Tuesday urged his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, to stop questioning his character and patriotism¹. Obama spoke² to the same veterans group in Florida that McCain addressed the day before when he accused Obama of putting his political ambitions ahead of U.S. national interests. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has the latest on the presidential campaign from Washington.
　
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. speaks at the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in Orlando, 19 Aug 2008

Senator Obama told the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Orlando, Florida, that Afghanistan remains³ the central front in the war on terrorism, and that he was right to oppose the war in Iraq from the start.

Obama also challenged Senator McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee⁴, to refrain from further attacks on his patriotism.

"I have never suggested and never will that Senator McCain picks his positions on national security based on politics and personal ambition," Obama said. "I have not suggested it because I believe he genuinely wants to serve America's national interests. Now it is time for him to acknowledge that I want to do the same. Let me be clear-I will let no one question my love of this country. I love America, so do you, and so does John McCain."

A day earlier, Senator McCain told the same conference that Senator Obama had put his own political ambitions ahead of the national interest by trying, in McCain's words, to legislate⁵ failure in Iraq.

McCain opposes Obama's proposal for a troop withdrawal⁶ timetable in Iraq, and he criticized Obama again for refusing to acknowledge the success of the Bush administration's military surge strategy in Iraq.

"Even in retrospect⁷, he would choose the path of failure for America over the path of success and victory," McCain said. "In short, both candidates in this election have pledged to end this war and bring our troops home. The great difference is that I intend to win it first."

Apart from the debate over Iraq, both presidential contenders are focused on picking their vice⁸ presidential running mates and getting ready for the national nominating conventions.

Obama is expected to pick his running mate first, since the Democratic convention begins Monday in Denver, Colorado. The latest media speculation⁹ focuses on Democratic Senators Joe Biden of Delaware and Evan Bayh of Indiana, and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.

Senator McCain is expected to announce his choice shortly before the Republican convention begins on September 1 in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.

Much of the Republican speculation has focused on Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt¹⁰ Romney and former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge¹¹.

Public opinion polls show a close race at the moment with a slight edge to Obama. Both contenders will be looking to get a boost out of their party conventions before they enter the general election campaign in early September.

University of Virginia expert Larry Sabato says the presidential candidates and their parties try to maximize the impact of the modern political conventions.

"The reason why conventions still matter is because millions of voters are distracted. They are busy," Sabato said. "A convention is a wonderful opportunity for both parties to [tele] scope into just four days their major arguments on behalf of their candidate and their party."

Each party convention will last four days, and will culminate¹² with the party nominees¹³ giving a televised acceptance speech, watched by millions, both in the U.S. and around the world.

1 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 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。

4 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。

5 legislate   

vt.制定法律；n.法规，律例；立法

参考例句：

• Therefore,it is very urgent to legislate for the right of privacy.因此，为隐私权立法刻不容缓。
• It's impossible to legislate for every contingency.为每一偶发事件都立法是不可能的。

6 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

7 retrospect   

n.回顾，追溯；v.回顾，回想，追溯

参考例句：

• One's school life seems happier in retrospect than in reality.学校生活回忆起来显得比实际上要快乐。
• In retrospect,it's easy to see why we were wrong.回顾过去就很容易明白我们的错处了。

8 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。

9 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

10 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

11 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

12 culminate   

v.到绝顶，达于极点，达到高潮

参考例句：

• The celebration of the centenary will culminate with a dinner.百年庆典活动将以宴会作为高潮。
• Everyone feared that the boundary dispute between these two countries would culminate in a war.人人都担心,这两国间的边境争端将以一场战争到达顶点。

13 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