密歇根新闻广播 密歇根州将选择新领导人来处理老问题

 

One day this fall, I was listening to the news while driving to Lansing. The announcer, in a manner-of-fact tone, talked about the tweets the President of the United States had sent in the wee hours of the morning attacking his own secretary of state. It seems the two men differed on what approach to take in handling the dictator with nuclear weapons our chief executive was calling "Little Rocket Man."

What struck me was the degree to which this all seems normal now — the degree to which late night comedy, so-called reality TV, and the affairs of state have all merged¹ into one giant infotainment center. There are days when I even think that I’m getting used to this, and to me, that’s the most worrisome of all.

Remarkably², there’s less of this in Michigan politics and government. We have plenty of silliness and irrational³ behavior, but there is still a sense in both parties that jobs and the economy, education, and health care are important things, even if we have radically⁴ different ideas about how to best accomplish them. Governor Rick Snyder, whatever you think of him, is not out there making fun of the governor of Indiana's face.

Politics in Michigan have changed, I think, less than nationally. We are still largely facing the same problems now as a year ago. Detroit is still struggling, but slowly improving. We haven’t been talking about the roads as much, but they are still just as bad.

Unemployment has fallen dramatically from the Great Recession, now almost a decade ago, but there are still not enough of the kinds of jobs that keep educated young people in the state. On top of that, we make it steadily⁵ harder for them to get an education.

That’s the backdrop, as this transitional year ends, to what seems certain to be one of the most crucial election years Michigan has in a long time. We don’t know who the candidates for the various state offices will be, but we do know we’ll have an all new crop of leaders.

A year from today, we’ll be getting ready for a new governor, lieutenant⁶ governor, secretary of state, and attorney general. Two-thirds of the state senators will be new, as will a significant proportion of the state House of Representatives.

The governor and state senators we elect next year will be the ones in power when the state next goes through redistricting, and they will draw the lines. That's unless the group called Voters Not Politicians gets their proposal for nonpartisan redistricting on the ballot⁷ and we approve it.

Michigan is still a vitally important state. Our population of nearly ten million is almost three times that of all America at the time of the founding fathers. We could easily be a country of our own, with a thriving and diverse economy.

Last month, a woman asked me what my politics were and how I thought she should vote. I told her I believed it was better to be informed than ignorant, and that we should vote for politicians who believe our children’s futures⁸ are more important than our own.

That’s my bottom line. What I know is that next year is bound to be fascinating, and I look forward to sharing what happens and my thoughts with you.

Jack⁹ Lessenberry is Michigan Radio’s Senior Political Analyst¹⁰. Views expressed in his essays are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Radio, its management or the station licensee, The University of Michigan.

1 merged   

（使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
• The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。

2 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

3 irrational   

adj.无理性的，失去理性的

参考例句：

• After taking the drug she became completely irrational.她在吸毒后变得完全失去了理性。
• There are also signs of irrational exuberance among some investors.在某些投资者中是存在非理性繁荣的征象的。

4 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。

5 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

6 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

7 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

8 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

9 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

10 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。