Bush Campaigns in West Virginia

 

By Scott Stearns

President Bush is campaigning in the important swing state of West Virginia with two national opinion polls now showing him with a double-digit lead over Democratic challenger John Kerry.
It's the second Sunday in a row that President Bush is campaigning in West Virginia, a state he won four years ago, and a place that Republican officials believe Senator Kerry must pick up to win the general election.
So the Bush campaign is pushing hard to keep the state in their column with their eighth, and certainly not their last, visit this election year.
"It's great to be back in West Virginia. Seems like I'm making a habit [of] coming here. It ought to be clear to the people of this state that I want to carry West Virginia again."
That means getting Democratic voters to cross over and cast their ballots¹ for the president in November. At Parkersburg High School, President Bush welcomed Democrats² in the crowd at a rally on the school's sports field.
"I want to thank you all for coming. See, my message is for everybody," he added. "A safer, stronger, better America is for every citizen of this country."
West Virginians heard the president's standard stump³ speech: that the economy is getting better, that Senator Kerry wants to raise taxes, and that the challenges facing the country in the fight against terrorism are best met by giving him another four years in office.
"I believe the most solemn duty of the president is to protect the American people. If America shows uncertainty⁴ and weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This is not going to happen on my watch."
Two public opinion polls, by the weekly news magazines Time and Newsweek, put Mr. Bush ahead of Senator Kerry by more than ten percentage points. If those numbers hold up, that would be a considerably⁵ larger bounce for the president coming out of last week's Republican convention than Senator Kerry saw coming out of July's Democratic convention.
Bush Campaign Manager Ken⁶ Mehlman says, while the polls are encouraging, it is still too soon to say whether the president is really pulling ahead after months of a neck-and-neck contest.
"I think that it's going to be an election that is topsy turvy, that is hard fought the entire time," (said Mr. Mehlman) "I think when we get more polls back next week, we will have a sense of whether we have a small lead that is consistent across the board. Then we will have that sense and where the numbers are we will have a sense after we get some more data back."
President Bush continues his non-stop campaigning out of the Republican convention with a rally and bus tour Monday and Tuesday through another important swing state, Missouri.
Scott Stearns, VOA news, with the President in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

注释：
West Virginia 西弗吉尼亚
double-digit 两位数的
column 纵队，队伍
ballot 选票
stump speech 政治演说
solemn 庄严的
tragedy 悲剧
considerably 相当地
topsy turvy 酣歌畅戏
consistent 一致的
Missouri 密苏里州

1 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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》

3 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

4 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

5 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

6 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.