Democrats Look Ahead to Securing 'Super Tuesday' Wins

Democrats¹ Look Ahead to Securing 'Super Tuesday' Wins

 

Jim Malone

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry seeks to extend his lead in the battle for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination² as three western states choose nominating delegates on Tuesday. But as the Democratic race continues, President Bush is stepping up his re-election effort.

Democratic voters in Utah, Idaho, and Hawaii are selecting delegates. But the two major Democratic candidates, Senator Kerry and North Carolina Senator John Edwards, are looking ahead to next Tuesday when 10 states will hold primaries or caucuses⁴ that could largely determine who the Democratic nominee⁵ will be.

Senator Kerry has a huge lead in the delegate count and Senator Edwards faces the daunting⁶ task of having to win more than 60 percent of the remaining delegates in order to win the nomination.

Meanwhile, both Democratic contenders are urging voters to ignore the independent candidacy of consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Some Democrats blame him for Al Gore's narrow defeat in 2000.

Senator Kerry says those drawn⁷ to Mr. Nader should take a look at his campaign. "I think my candidacy will speak to and appeal to many of the people who were attracted in the year 2000 to Ralph Nader."

Senator Edwards is also trying to win over Nader supporters and those who backed former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, who withdrew from the Democratic race last week.

Senator Edwards is focusing on his battle with Senator Kerry and away from the growing perception among many voters that the November election will be a race between Senator Kerry and President Bush.

"This campaign and this election is not about George Bush's past, John Kerry's past or John Edwards' past. This is about the future of the American people."

After weeks of being attacked by the Democrats running for the White House, President Bush is starting to fire back. On a fundraising speech in Washington, the president indirectly⁸ criticized Senator Kerry for shifting positions on free trade, tax cuts, and the Iraq War.

"Our opponents have not offered much in terms of strategies to win the war or polices to expand our economy. So far, all we hear is a lot of old bitterness and partisan⁹ anger. Anger is not an agenda for the future of America."

The president's re-election campaign will launch a series of television ads in 17 states next week defending the administration's record on the economy and national security. Many of the states targeted were closely contested in the election four years ago.

 

注释：

step up  提升，提高

look ahead  计划未来

primary [5praimEri] n. 预选

caucus³ [5kC:kEs] n. 政党核心会议

daunting [dC:ntiN] adj. 令人胆怯的，令人畏缩的

contender [kEn5tendE(r)] n. 斗争者，竞争者

Ralph Nader  拉尔夫·纳德，美国消费者利益维护人。

appeal to  吸引

perception [pE5sepFEn] n. 理解，感觉

fundraising [fQndreiziN] n. 筹款，募款

shifting [5FiftiN] adj. 多变的，狡猾的

in terms of  在……方面，按照，

strategy [5strAtidVi] n. 策略

partisan [pB:tI5zAn] n. 党人，游击队

launch [lC:ntF] v. 发动

 

1 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》

2 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

3 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。

4 caucuses   

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   

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。

6 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

7 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

8 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

9 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。