Bush Celebrates While Democrats Reflect

 

By Jim Malone

The hard-fought 2004 U.S. presidential election came to an end Wednesday when Democrat¹ John Kerry conceded defeat to the Republican incumbent², President George Bush.  Mr. Bush now looks ahead to another four years in office while Mr. Kerry returns to the U.S. Senate. 
 
After John Kerry conceded there was no way to win the key battleground state of Ohio, President Bush promised a productive second term to his supporters in Washington.
 
"We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds³ us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."
 
Mr. Bush ran as a war president and constantly reminded voters of his leadership in the war on terror.  But the Republicans also pounded away at John Kerry, raising questions about his Senate record and whether he was up to the job of being commander in chief.
 
Charles Cook is an independent political analyst⁴ in Washington.  He believes the Republicans ran the more effective campaign.
 
"I think his [Kerry's] campaign was good, but not great. You know, I think the president had huge liabilities.  I think another Democrat might have been able to take him, but I think they [the Republicans] ran a great campaign."
 
After narrowly losing the popular vote in the presidential election four years ago, Republicans mounted an aggressive get-out-the-vote campaign this year that specifically targeted religious voters and those concerned with moral issues like abortion⁵ and gay marriage.
 
Presidential historian Michael Beschloss spoke⁶ on ABC television.
 
"Well, you know the most fascinating thing in the ABC News exit polls I thought, was the number of people who voted for President Bush because of moral issues. I think the other thing is that when you have a president who is fighting a war that often times trumps⁷ everything else."
 
But the voter exit polls also showed Americans divided over Iraq and domestic issues like jobs and health care.
 
In his concession⁸ speech in Boston, John Kerry appealed to the president to reach out to Democrats⁹ and independents in his second term.
 
"America is in need of unity¹⁰ and longing¹¹ for a larger measure of compassion," said Mr. Kerry.  "I hope President Bush will advance those values in the coming years.  I pledge to do my part to try to bridge the partisan¹² divide."
 
The Kerry defeat will likely set off a new round of soul-searching by Democrats, many of whom are concerned that their party is being marginalized in large regions of the country like the south, the mountain west and the Midwest.
 
Former Democratic Senator George Mitchell of Maine told NBC television that his party must find a way to connect with more conservative, rural voters who now favor the Republican Party in overwhelming numbers.
 
"The Democratic Party reached its peak in the past century when Franklin Roosevelt put together a coalition¹³ that spanned the entire country. And I think what we are lacking now is any kind of reasonable base in large parts of the country as you can see on the election map.  I think you have to be a national party to compete in national elections."
 
Republicans also solidified¹⁴ their control of Congress in this election, gaining seats in both the Senate and House of Representatives.
 
But with one party in control of so many levers of government, public pressure will build on the president and his Republican supporters to produce legislation.
 
Washington political analyst Stuart Rothenberg says Mr. Bush may have only a narrow window to push through his agenda for a second term.
 
"In the next few months, the president may have the opportunity to take advantage of a larger Republican majority, particularly in the Senate. But after that, things are likely to bog¹⁵ down.  The president does not have much of an agenda at the moment.  So first, he has to decide what he wants to do in a second term and, as I mentioned, second terms are often not particularly productive."
 
The president is expected to face a host of old and new challenges in his second term.  These include familiar issues like Iraq and the war on terror but also domestic issues such as shoring up the government pension and medical care programs for older Americans.

Jim Malone, VOA news, Washington.

注释：
incumbent 职责，义务
concede 退让
liabilities 债务，职责
abortion 堕胎
marginalize 忽视，排斥
overwhelming 压倒性的，无法抵抗的
House of Representatives 众议院
bog down 陷入困境，停顿

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 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

3 binds   

v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕

参考例句：

• Frost binds the soil. 霜使土壤凝结。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Stones and cement binds strongly. 石头和水泥凝固得很牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 trumps   

abbr.trumpets 喇叭；小号；喇叭形状的东西；喇叭筒v.（牌戏）出王牌赢（一牌或一墩）( trump的过去式 )；吹号公告，吹号庆祝；吹喇叭；捏造

参考例句：

• On the day of the match the team turned up trumps. 比赛那天该队出乎意料地获得胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Every time John is late getting home he trumps up some new excuse. 每次约翰晚回家都会编造个新借口。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

9 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》

10 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

11 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

12 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。

13 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

14 solidified   

（使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的过去式和过去分词 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化

参考例句：

• Her attitudes solidified through privilege and habit. 由于特权和习惯使然，她的看法变得越来越难以改变。
• When threatened, he fires spheres of solidified air from his launcher! 当危险来临，他就会发射它的弹药！

15 bog   

n.沼泽；室...陷入泥淖

参考例句：

• We were able to pass him a rope before the bog sucked him under.我们终于得以在沼泽把他吞没前把绳子扔给他。
• The path goes across an area of bog.这条小路穿过一片沼泽。