VOA标准英语2008年-No Clear Winner in US Presidential Debate

Both U.S. presidential candidates were claiming victory following the first of three scheduled debates. Commentators¹, analysts³ and bloggers appeared split on who may have gained an advantage from Friday's debate. Many believe that both Republican John McCain and Democrat⁴ Barack Obama performed well, but neither walked away the clear winner. VOA's Kent Klein reports from Washington.
　
John McCain, left, and Barack Obama shake hands after first presidential debate (26 Sep 08)

The headlines in Saturday's newspapers, websites and blogs show mixed reactions to the debate: "Neither candidate won, tie goes to Obama," "McCain very glad he decided⁵ to show up," and "The big winner was America."

Experts seem to agree that neither Barack Obama nor John McCain made any serious mistakes. NBC political analyst² Chuck Todd said on Saturday's Today show he thinks it was a good night for both candidates.

"They were both very good at doing what they do well, Obama being a little more direct than he usually is, but still expansive, and the format⁶ helped him there, McCain being very direct, showing a lot of energy," he said.

Bruce Miroff, a professor of political science at the State University of New York at Albany, says John McCain was particularly comfortable in the foreign policy portion of the debate.

"McCain had had a rocky two weeks on the economy. He was back on his ground of foreign policy, and he probably reassured⁷ his supporters that he was still in command of his campaign," he said.

On the other hand, Miroff says Barack Obama held his own with McCain on foreign policy.
　
Barack Obama

"Obama's task was to show that he could go toe-to-toe with McCain on foreign policy, his supposed weakness and McCain's supposed strength. He had to look presidential, he had to convince people that he was ready to be commander-in-chief, and to be a president knowledgeable⁸ and with good judgment⁹ on foreign policy, and I think he accomplished¹⁰ that task," he said.

The 90-minute debate at the University of Mississippi was originally intended to focus entirely¹¹ on foreign affairs. But the recent convulsions in the financial markets led debate moderator Jim Lehrer to spend the first 40 minutes on economic issues. Larry Sabato, Director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, says that was a distinct advantage for Obama.

"In essence, John McCain got cheated. That was supposed to be the foreign policy debate. That is John McCain's strong suit," he said. "The McCain campaign was delighted that the series of debates began with the foreign policy issues. And, of course, because of the financial superstructure meltdown, the moderator naturally asked questions about the economy."

Some analysts have commented on the contrasting demeanor¹² of the two candidates. While Obama argued with McCain on numerous issues, he said eight times he agreed with his opponent on various points. Some commentators have called that a sign of weakness. Bruce Miroff, however, says it hurt McCain.
　
John McCain

"McCain very visibly smirked¹³ and showed a kind of disrespect for Obama, which was also evident in constantly saying that Obama did not understand this or that. And to some people that may convey strength, but I suspect to more people it was a negative for McCain," he said.

Larry Sabato says the candidates' behavior during a debate has very little to do with who is more qualified¹⁴ to be President.

"Whether McCain looked at Obama is irrelevant¹⁵," he said. "Whether Obama was interrupting McCain because he was upset is irrelevant. What matters really is the substance of what they said. Does style play into it? Of course it plays into it. But that is no way to pick a president."

The second of this year's three presidential debates will take place October 7 in Nashville, Tennessee. The candidates will respond to questions on both foreign and domestic policy from the audience, and to questions submitted on the Internet.

Larry Sabato says the format of the second debate appears to favor John McCain.

"Town hall debates are McCain's strong point, and yet you never know what is going to be asked," he said.

There will also be one vice¹⁶ presidential debate, between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Sarah Palin October 2 in Saint Louis, Missouri.

 

1 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 analysts   

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。

4 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。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

7 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 knowledgeable   

adj.知识渊博的；有见识的

参考例句：

• He's quite knowledgeable about the theatre.他对戏剧很有心得。
• He made some knowledgeable remarks at the meeting.他在会上的发言颇有见地。

9 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

10 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

11 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

12 demeanor   

n.行为；风度

参考例句：

• She is quiet in her demeanor.她举止文静。
• The old soldier never lost his military demeanor.那个老军人从来没有失去军人风度。

13 smirked   

v.傻笑( smirk的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He smirked at Tu Wei-yueh. 他对屠维岳狞笑。 来自子夜部分
• He smirked in acknowledgement of their uncouth greetings, and sat down. 他皮笑肉不笑地接受了他的粗鲁的招呼，坐了下来。 来自辞典例句

14 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

15 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

16 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。