美国国家公共电台 NPR Cory Booker Is A Stirring Speaker, Iowa Voters Say. But His S

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It looks unlikely that Cory Booker will qualify for next week's Democratic presidential debate - second debate in a row that he's missed. For much of this campaign, the New Jersey² senator has struggled to gain traction³ in the polls, even though in Iowa, the first state to vote, many voters praise his charisma⁴, his authenticity⁵.

NPR's Asma Khalid wanted to find out why that popularity is not reflected in those polls.

ASMA KHALID, BYLINE⁶: Cory Booker is a politician who sounds like a preacher.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CORY BOOKER: We may be down in a valley right now. But I promise you, if you stand with me, if you caucus⁷ with me, if we stand for that spirit, I promise you we will get to the mountaintop. And we'll do it because together, as Americans, we know we will rise. Thank you, everybody.

KHALID: Iowans who hear him walk away touched, even people who are not committed to caucusing⁸ for him - people like Sue Dvorsky, the former chair of the Iowa Democratic Party.

SUE DVORSKY: I've heard him multiple times. I still get a little teary. I still get goose bumps on my arms. But...

KHALID: But, she says, there's a different calculus⁹ this year. Dvorsky was an early supporter of Barack Obama in 2007. And she says, now, a lot of voters don't want to pick a candidate with their heart. They're picking with their head, trying to find the Democrat¹ they think has the best odds¹⁰ of defeating Donald Trump¹¹. Still, she says...

DVORSKY: It is undeniable that people like him.

KHALID: And so Booker's fans are confused. Activists¹² say he's built a stronger organization here than many people realize, and he's gotten a good number of endorsements¹³ from local politicians. So why isn't that translating into more concrete support? Some say maybe it's because Booker is black and Democrats¹⁴ want to go with a safe, white, male option. Others say maybe Booker's message of love and unity¹⁵ is not what voters want this year. They want a fighter.

Either way, when Booker speaks, he captures the attention of a crowd better than most of his rivals.

THOMAS LECAQUE: He has a really charismatic personality.

KHALID: I met Thomas Lecaque at a Booker house party. He was still sporting a Julian Castro button on his jacket. The former housing secretary who recently dropped out of the race had been Lecaque's first choice. But he says after hearing Booker in person, he was impressed.

LECAQUE: I trust him as a human being. He is someone who strikes me as being honest and idealistic and trying to do the right thing.

KHALID: Booker has a massive extended family in Iowa. And the other day, one of his cousins hosted a black women's luncheon¹⁶ for him in Des Moines. That's where I met Lauren Patrick, who told me she wants Booker's voice in this race.

LAUREN PATRICK: Whether that's, like, a loyalty¹⁷ within the black community or just feeling, like, that he's a solid candidate and he should have an opportunity to be on the platform, and then how people decide to vote from there is another thing. But I just want to make sure he has a fair shot.

KHALID: Booker himself is pleading with Iowans in these final few weeks, asking them to ignore the headlines.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BOOKER: I'm asking you to make a decision when you leave here to caucus for me. I love Iowa because you don't care about national polls, you really don't. You've belied¹⁸ them all the time.

KHALID: Jason Oelmann was in the crowd. And afterwards, he went up to take a picture with the senator. Booker recorded a video message for Oelmann's partner who didn't make this event.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BOOKER: We're sending you lots of love, lots of gratitude¹⁹. And I hope I get a chance to meet you. Come to one of my future events, please.

KHALID: This is the Booker way - messages of love sent via modern technology. Oelmann walked away thrilled.

JASON OELMANN: He's very charismatic, and he's very, very positive. I feel like positive energy really kind of radiates and speaks to me.

KHALID: But still, Oelmann's not sure he's going to caucus for Booker. Booker's in his top three, but that's the predicament for the New Jersey senator. He's in a lot of people's top three; he's just not necessarily their No. 1.

Asma Khalid, NPR News, Des Moines.

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 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。

4 charisma   

n.(大众爱戴的)领袖气质，魅力

参考例句：

• He has enormous charisma. He is a giant of a man.他有超凡的个人魅力，是个伟人。
• I don't have the charisma to pull a crowd this size.我没有那么大的魅力，能吸引这么多人。

5 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

8 caucusing   

v.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的现在分词 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

9 calculus   

n.微积分；结石

参考例句：

• This is a problem where calculus won't help at all.对于这一题，微积分一点也用不上。
• After studying differential calculus you will be able to solve these mathematical problems.学了微积分之后，你们就能够解这些数学题了。

10 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

11 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

12 activists   

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 endorsements   

n.背书( endorsement的名词复数 )；（驾驶执照上的）违章记录；（公开的）赞同；（通常为名人在广告中对某一产品的）宣传

参考例句：

• He must make much money on those tennis shoe endorsements he does. 他替那些网球鞋珍重广告，就赚了不少钱。 来自互联网
• But celebrity endorsements remain an important promotional tool for marketers. 尽管如此，邀明星助阵仍是营销人员重要的推广手段之一。 来自互联网

14 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》

15 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

16 luncheon   

n.午宴，午餐，便宴

参考例句：

• We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
• I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。

17 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

18 belied   

v.掩饰( belie的过去式和过去分词 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎

参考例句：

• His bluff exterior belied a connoisseur of antiques. 他作风粗放，令人看不出他是古董鉴赏家。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her smile belied her true feelings. 她的微笑掩饰了她的真实感情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。