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VOA常速英语2007年-New Hampshire Launches Primary Season in Early

时间:2008-01-15 03:00:47

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By Jeffrey Young
Washington, D.C.
24 December 2007
 
On January 8, 2008, the northeastern U.S. state of New Hampshire will be the first to hold a primary election that determines voter preference for presidential candidates. In this segment of "How America Elects," VOA's Jeffrey Young explains how primary elections set the stage for the November, 2008 showdown between the Democratic and Republican parties. 

New Hampshire is small in size, and has only 1.3 million people out of the U.S. total of about 300 million.  But when New Hampshire votes, it commands the attention of the entire nation.  And, the results reverberate2 all the way to the White House.

Every four years, New Hampshire temporarily becomes the center of the U.S. political universe. The northeastern state is the first to hold a primary election, where voters show preference for a particular Democratic or Republican presidential candidate. In most states, voters registered with a political party can only vote for that party's candidates. But some states, such as New Hampshire, also let voters not registered with a party take part.

American University's Candice Nelson explains another dimension of primaries. "The purpose of the primary season is to get – to enable – candidates to introduce themselves to the voters, to let the voters get to know the candidates, to think about the candidates over the course of three or four months."

Candidates have always campaigned person-to-person in primary states such as New Hampshire, going from town to town shaking hands, attending rallies, and other means of contact with the electorate3

When George W. Bush was a candidate for president in 2000 he told a crowd, "Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for giving me a chance to come and visit a little bit [while] about why I am asking for your vote. I'll be glad to answer a few questions."

The presidential candidates are usually in New Hampshire nonstop in the days just before the primary. They, and their campaign teams, keep hunting for votes right down to when the polls close, as Democrat1 John Kerry demonstrated in 2004. "We have to go out and do the work. We have to turn out the vote. We have to make those calls. We have to knock on those doors. We have to complete the mission."

The traditional three or four month period of states holding primaries and caucuses4 has been shrinking in recent presidential elections, as states go earlier and earlier in hopes of gaining greater visibility and power in determining the party's presidential nominee5. Some people have proposed that all states conduct their primaries or caucuses on the same day. 

The arguments on that, both pro-and-con, are stated by Georgetown University's Mark Rom. "The main advantage of a national primary is that the voters, the votes from individuals across the nation, would count equally toward choosing the presidential candidates. That would be a good thing. The bad thing about a national primary is [that] it would give special advantages to those [candidates] who have raised the most money, and those who have the highest popularity when the race starts.

In primary elections and caucuses, a vote cast for a presidential candidate is actually a vote for that candidate's delegates to their political party's national convention, which takes place about two months before the final vote.  The candidate with the greatest number of delegates overall becomes that party's presidential nominee in the November general election showdown that leads to the White House.


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1 democrat Xmkzf     
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 reverberate 1BIzS     
v.使回响,使反响
参考例句:
  • The decision will reverberate and will jar the country.这项决定将引起反响并震撼这个国家。
  • Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my hear.痛苦呼喊的一遍遍的在我的心中回响。
3 electorate HjMzk     
n.全体选民;选区
参考例句:
  • The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
  • He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。
4 caucuses d49ca95184fa2aef8e2ee3b613a6f7dd     
n.(政党决定政策或推举竞选人的)核心成员( caucus的名词复数 );决策干部;决策委员会;秘密会议
参考例句:
  • Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网
5 nominee FHLxv     
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。

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