Vice President Cheney Praises Bush, Slams Kerry

 

By Meredith Buel

Vice¹ President Dick Cheney has accepted the Republican Party's nomination² for reelection, calling the 2004 presidential campaign one of the most important in the nation's history. Mr. Cheney praised President Bush's efforts to keep America safe from terrorism, while criticizing Democratic presidential nominee⁴ John Kerry.
"Mr. Chairman, delegates, distinguished⁵ guests, and fellow Americans: I accept your nomination for vice president of the United States," he said.
Vice President Cheney told delegates to the Republican National Convention that this year's election is a defining moment in American history.
He said on the question of American's role in the world, the differences between Senator Kerry and President Bush are sharp and the stakes for the country are high.
The vice president accused the Democratic nominee of frequently changing his mind on important issues. "On Iraq, Senator Kerry has disagreed with many of his fellow Democrats⁶. But Senator Kerry's liveliest disagreement is with himself," he said. "His back-and-forth reflects a habit of indecision, and sends a message of confusion. And it is all part of a pattern. He has, in the last several years, been for the No Child Left Behind Act -- and against it. He has spoken in favor of the North American Free Trade Agreement -- and against it. He is for the Patriot⁷ Act -- and against it. Senator Kerry says he sees two Americas. It makes the whole thing mutual⁸ -- America sees two John Kerrys."
Vice President Cheney reviewed what he says are some of the Bush administration's leading accomplishments⁹ since taking office three-and-a-half years ago.
On domestic issues he pointed¹⁰ to education reform, a growing economy and lower taxes.
Mr. Cheney said the administration will never lose sight of the greatest challenge of our time: preserving the freedom and security of the nation against terrorism.
He says President Bush is optimistic about America's future, and is determined¹¹ to keep the country safe.
"Our President understands the miracle of this great country. He knows the hope that drives it and shares the optimism that has long been so important a part of our national character," he said. "He gets up each and every day determined to keep our great nation safe so that generations to come will know the freedom and opportunities we have known - and more."
In a highly unusual move, a member of the opposition¹² Democratic Party gave the keynote address at the Republican convention.
Just 12-years ago Senator Zell Miller¹³ addressed the Democratic convention that nominated Bill Clinton for president.
However this year Senator Miller says he has become frustrated¹⁴ by what he regards as the liberal nature of the Democratic Party, and has decided¹⁵ to throw his support behind the Republican president.
"Right now the world just cannot afford an indecisive America," he said. "Fainthearted, self-indulgence will put at risk all we care about in this world. In this hour of danger our President has had the courage to stand up. And this Democrat³ is proud to stand up with him."
Senator Miller took aim at the leaders of his own Democratic Party, saying they are motivated more by partisan¹⁶ politics than by national security.
When it comes to Iraq, he says Democratic leaders see America as an occupier, not a liberator¹⁷.
Mr. Miller lashed¹⁸ out at Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, charging he would hurt America's military. "For more than twenty years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has been more wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure," he said. "As a war protester, Kerry blamed our military. As a Senator, he voted to weaken our military. And nothing shows that more sadly and more clearly than his vote this year to deny protective armor for our troops in harm's way, far-away. George Bush understands that we need new strategies to meet new threats."
President Bush arrived in New York Wednesday evening and was endorsed¹⁹ by firefighters, the human and heroic symbols of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks that defined his first term in office and are a main focus of his reelection campaign.
Mr. Bush will accept his party's nomination for reelection and address the convention on Thursday night.
Meredith Buel, VOA news, New York.注释：
distinguished 高贵的
frequently 频繁地
indecision 优柔寡断
confusion 混乱
No Child Left Behind Act《决不让任何一个孩子落后法案》
North American Free Trade Agreement《北美自由贸易协定》
mutual 相互的，共有的
accomplishment 造诣
miracle 奇迹
finthearted 懦弱的
self-indulgence 放纵
wobbly 不稳定的
armor 装甲

 

1 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。

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 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。

4 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。

5 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

6 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》

7 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

8 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

9 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

11 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

14 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

16 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。

17 liberator   

解放者

参考例句：

• The best integrated turf quality was recorded in Ram I、Midnight、America、Connie、Liberator, which could be adopted in Shanxi. RamI、Midnight、America、Connie、Liberator综合质量表现均衡且分值较高，是山西省推广应用的重点品种。
• It is the story of a new world that became a friend and liberator of the old. 这是一部新世界的发展史，是一部后浪推前浪的历史。

18 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；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：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》