VOA标准英语2008年-New Poll Shows Arab-Americans Favor Obama over

A new nationwide poll shows that among likely Arab-American voters in November's U.S. presidential election, Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama holds a 21-point lead over Republican candidate Sen. John McCain. Mohamed Elshinnawi has more on what pollsters are calling an historic shift among Arab-Americans toward the Democratic Party.
　
James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, announces results of a new poll of Arab-American voters showing Barack Obama holds a 21-point lead over John McCain

Arab-American voters align² very closely with other Americans on domestic issues such as the economy, jobs, health care and education. But an opinion survey by the private polling group Zogby International found that dissatisfaction with the domestic and foreign policyperformance of the Bush administration is eroding³ the Republican Party base among a majority of Arab-American voters.

James Zogby, brother of pollster John Zogby, is president of the Arab American Institute, which commissioned the survey released Sept. 18. James Zogby says the results confirm there is an important ideological⁴ shift taking place among Arab-American voters.

"The floor has fallen out [from] underneath⁵ the Republican Party," he says. "They have half of the strength this year that they had in 2000, and this is not a surprise. You pursue bad policies, and you get bad results."

Zogby notes that in the 2000 U.S. presidential election, the overall Arab-American vote was 44 percent for Republican George W. Bush and 38 percent for Democrat¹ Al Gore⁶. But this year, the survey shows 54 percent favor Obama, and just 33 percent support McCain.

Arab-American Vote Could Affect Election Outcome in Some States

Zogby says this margin⁷ could be decisive in the so-called swing states, where the contest between Democrats⁸ and Republicans is close, and where those Arab-American votes can make a big difference in the election outcome.

"I think in Michigan it will be a very significant impact, and that is why the campaigns are paying so much attention to Arab-American voters in Michigan," Zogby says. "They are 4 to 5 percent of the vote."

Zogby says Arab-Americans also can make a difference in Virginia, Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania.

In the eastern swing states of Virginia and Ohio, Arab-American voters comprise almost two percent of the vote. Zogby says the survey showed the most important issues for Arab-American voters are jobs and the economy, followed by the war in Iraq, Middle East peace and health care.

Arab-Americans Play Active Role in U.S. Politics
　
Nadine Wahab, public affairs manager at the Arab American Institute, says Arab-Americans are very politically active

According to the latest U.S census⁹, there are close to 3.5 million Arab-Americans in the United States. Two-thirds of them reside in just 10 states. Nadine Wahab, public affairs manager at the Arab American Institute, says, as a group, Arab-Americans are very politically active.

"We have a higher rate of voter registration¹⁰. I think it is over 80 percent - third, actually, only to the Jewish and the African-American community," Wahab says. "And for voter turnout, we are also quite active. We are in the 60 percent [range]. So, as a community, we come out to vote, and we are active both on the issues and on the political stage."
　
Yalla Vote, an initiative by the Arab American Institute, works to engage Arab-Americans in the political process

The Arab American Institute has been working for the civic¹¹ and political empowerment of Arab-Americans for the past 20 years. It sponsors voter registration drives, such as the Yalla (Let's Go) Vote campaign, and supports voter education events, including candidates nights, which give the community a chance to meet and question candidates from both parties.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, of Virginia, says he is impressed by the level of Arab-American participation¹² in the U.S. political process, both nationally and locally.

"It is critical that a community as large as the Arab-American community in the United States be part of the democratic process, influence it, change it in some areas," he says. "Some areas do need to be changed, and it is not going to be changed unless the constituencies get elected officials to rethink their positions, to have an open mind and try to have a balanced policy."

Political Participation Yields Results in Some Communities

Moran says Arab-Americans should remind the candidate who wins November's election that they did their part as American citizens and that they expect the new president to be responsive to their needs. Bassam Estwani, an Arab-American activist¹³, agrees.

"We are part of this country and this great nation, and if we do not vote, that means we isolated¹⁴ ourselves," he says. "So we should be active and positive, and we hope to work for a better future, so this is the way to achieve that."

Estwani says getting Arab and Muslim Americans involved in the election process can also bring important returns to communities. Their heavy involvement in the recent campaigns of both Democratic and Republican congressmen in northern Virginia resulted in both congressmen supporting the construction of a major new Islamic center in the area.

 

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 align   

vt.使成一线，结盟，调节；vi.成一线，结盟

参考例句：

• Align the ruler and the middle of the paper.使尺子与纸张的中部成一条直线。
• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals.有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。

3 eroding   

侵蚀，腐蚀( erode的现在分词 )； 逐渐毁坏，削弱，损害

参考例句：

• The coast is slowly eroding. 海岸正慢慢地被侵蚀。
• Another new development is eroding the age-old stereotype of the male warrior. 另一个新现象是，久已形成的男人皆武士的形象正逐渐消失。

4 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

5 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

6 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

7 margin   

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。

8 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》

9 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

10 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

11 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

12 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

13 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

14 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。