Kennedy Sharply Criticizes President Bush at

 

By Dan Robinson

In one of the strongest speeches of the Democratic party convention in Boston, Senator Edward Kennedy has condemned² what he calls damage to the country and its international reputation under Republican leadership. Senator John Kerry, and his vice³ presidential choice John Edwards, also received the support of other prominent Democrats⁴:
If, as Democratic officials said, the party was trying to soften⁵ harsh partisan⁶ blows on President Bush during the convention, it would be hard to tell from Senator Kennedy's address.
The only surviving brother of the slain⁷ former President John F. Kennedy, Senator Kennedy delivered the sharpest critique of President Bush and his administration of anyone addressing the convention so far.
Listing economic, social, environmental and foreign policy mistakes he asserted should be more than enough for voters to remove President Bush from office, he said the stakes in the November election are higher than ever before.
"I have served for many years in the Senate and have seen many elections, but there have been none, none, more urgent or more important than this one," he said. "Never before have I seen a contrast so sharp, or consequences so profound, as in the choice we will make for president in 2004."
Senator Kennedy has been one of the fiercest critics of the president on how the situation in Iraq has been handled.
He told delegates Mr. Bush diverted resources and attention from the fight against the al-Qaida terrorist network, and damaged U.S. credibility with key allies.
"More than 900 of our servicemen and women have already paid the ultimate price," he said. "Nearly 6,000 have been wounded in this mis-guided war. The administration has alienated⁸ longtime allies. Instead of making America more secure, they have made us less so. They have made it harder to win the real war on terrorism and the war against al-Qaida."
Also addressing the convention was someone who was once one of Senator Kerry's strongest challengers in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination⁹.
Congressman¹⁰ Richard Gephardt, who dropped out of the Democratic nomination race after losing key early political primary contests, said Mr. Kerry is fully¹¹ qualified¹² for the presidency¹³:
"There is no one in the United States with more courage, more judgment¹⁴, more resolve, more of the knowledge and experience to hold the job of president of these United States of America," he said.
Mr. Gephardt's speech was seen as the climax¹⁵ to his political career, after two unsuccessful runs for the presidency and is retiring from Congress.
Another Democrat¹ endorsing¹⁶ Mr. Kerry, and criticizing President Bush on Iraq, was South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle, Democratic (minority) leader in the Senate.
"South Dakotans reject the defeatist view that we have to have enough money to build Iraq but we can't afford to take care of the needs here at home," he said.
The speeches by the Democratic members of Congress came on the convention's second day.
Dan Robinson, VOA news, at Democratic Convention Boston.

注释：
reputation 声誉
prominent 突出的
soften（使）变缓和
partisan 游击队
slay 杀害
critique 批评
asserted 尚待证实的
stake 赌注
contrast 对比
consequence 结果，推论
delegate 代表
al-Qaida 基地组织
ultimate 最终的
alienate 离间，使疏远
presidency 任期
climax 顶点
run for 竞选
South Dakota 南达科塔
defeatist 失败主义者

 

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 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

3 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。

4 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》

5 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

6 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。

7 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

8 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 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。

13 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

14 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。

15 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

16 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网