Campaign Profile: Dennis Kucinich 注释：

 

Dan Robinson

Of the eight people seeking the 2004 Democratic nomination¹ for president, four currently serve in Congress - two in the Senate, and two in the House of Representatives. One of them is Dennis Kucinich. While the four-term congressman² from Ohio is given little chance of winning the Democratic nomination, his presence in the race has helped stir debate on issues ranging from Iraq and its effect on U.S. foreign policy to domestic issues such as health care and the economy.
If one thing is true about Dennis Kucinich, it is that he is a fighter for causes he believes passionately³ in. In this respect, he may not be much different from other Democrats⁴ seeking their party's nomination to challenge George Bush in 2004.
However, Dennis Kucinich considers himself the candidate best able to represent the interests of lower and middle income Americans, the "working class" that has been the traditional base of the Democratic party.
The domestic issues these segments of society are most concerned about are among his key campaign talking points.
"I want to see our domestic agenda focused on here," he said. "So we can have the money that we need for education, tuition-free college, universal single-payer health care, for pre-kindergarten, universal pre-kindergarten, child care for all of our children age three, four and five. As president of the United States I'll help to provide peace and prosperity for this country."
Dennis Kucinich grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, the oldest of seven children. His official biography notes that he and his family "lived in 21 places, including a couple of cars," by the time he was 17 years old.
According to the accounts of many who knew him, he was determined⁵ to succeed. At 23 he was elected to the Cleveland City Council, and at 31, he was mayor of Cleveland, Ohio's second-largest city and one plagued by industrial job loss and decay.
As remarkable⁶ as this was - Kucinich was the youngest person ever elected mayor of a major American city - that first step into big-city politics was marred⁷ by controversy⁸.
In a complicated story involving banks and the local power company, Cleveland was declared insolvent⁹ after then-Mayor Kucinich refused to sell the local power utility. In 1979, he was voted out of office after only one term and struggled for years to overcome public perceptions of incompetence¹⁰.
Although he drifted in the political wilderness¹¹ through the 1980s, by the mid-1990s he was on a rebound¹², elected to the Ohio state Senate in 1994, and in 1996 to the U.S. House of Representatives.
In Congress Mr. Kucinich became a key member of the "Progressive Caucus," a collection of lawmakers supporting liberal political, social and economic causes, and also spoke¹³ out on key international human rights issues.
Mr. Kucinich gained notoriety last year when he led opposition¹⁴ among mostly Democratic members of the House of Representatives to a resolution giving President Bush authority to launch a military strike on Iraq.
"I'm letting you know that there is an advancing tide here of opposition, that it is reflecting what we know to be true, and that is that by and large, the American people oppose this war," he said. "And as we near towards a vote in a few days, the American people are going to be calling this House telling them 'vote no.'"
But Mr. Kucinich was able to generate only 133 votes in the 435-member House against the Iraq war resolution, which also passed easily in the Senate.
However, amid mounting U.S. and coalition¹⁵ casualties in Iraq, Mr. Kucinich has sharpened his criticism of the Bush administration's handling of Iraq and its policy of pre-emptive action in the war on terror.
During a recent televised debate, Mr. Kucinich repeated his pledge that as president he would withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq while repairing what he says is damage to U.S. credibility with allies.
"I will lead this nation in a new direction. A direction where we get away from unilateralism and get away from pre-emption," he said. "That new direction will strike a responsive chord in the world community. That is why the United Nations will follow the plan that I have which will enable the U.N. troops to come in and the U.S. troops to come home."
Critics call Mr. Kucinich overly optimistic and naïve. They cite as proof his proposals to create a new government "Department of Peace," and his call for U.S. withdrawal¹⁶ from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
In Congress earlier this year, Mr. Kucinich ran into fierce opposition over his attempts to introduce an amendment¹⁷ to force Vice¹⁸ President Dick Cheney to turn over telephone records relating to Iraq war planning. He was confronted by an angry Republican, Congressman Ray LaHood, who accused him of using Congress to advance his political objectives.
"I believe it is an extension of his presidential campaign to try and besmirch¹⁹ the record of this administration, to besmirch the good name of the vice president," Mr. LaHood said.
Unlike other Democratic candidates for the presidency²⁰, such as former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, Mr. Kucinich has not been the subject of intense media attention for comments made in the course of the campaign.
The Ohio lawmaker has a platform calling for among other things, universal health care, job creation programs, and a proposal to repeal²¹ the "Patriot²² Act" passed by Congress after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
"We need to have economic platforms that put money back into people's pockets, and the social issues that are being used here as wedge issues that tend to divide people are really not worthy²³ of this party," he said. "We need to bring this party together on economic issues."
Although he has attracted support from a few wealthy contributors, Mr. Kucinich has relatively²⁴ little money to finance his campaign. He routinely ranks at or near the bottom of the Democratic group of candidates in public preference polls.
But it is very much like Dennis Kucinich, who started in politics at the age of 20, not to give up the fight.
He is campaigning in states that have early Democratic "primaries," and vows²⁵ to remain a candidate all the way through to the Democratic convention in Boston next August, saying he considers this an obligation to those who have supported him.

注释：
congressman [5kRN^resmEn] n. 国会议员
range [5reindV] vi. 涉及
passionately [5pAFEnitli] adv. 由热情产生的或具有热情特征的
segment [5se^mEnt] n. 部分
agenda [E5dVendE] n. 议程
Cleveland [5kli:vlEnd] n. 克利夫兰（美国俄亥俄州东北部的一座城市）
insolvent [in5sRlvEnt] adj. 破产的
House of Representative（美国、新西兰、澳大利亚等国的）众议院
casualty [5kAVjuElti] n. 伤亡（人数）
unilateralism [7iunE5lAtE7lizEm] n. 片面
World Trade Organization (WTO) 世界贸易组织
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) 北美自由贸易协定
amendment [E5mendmEnt] n. 修正草案
confront [kEn5frQnt] v. 面临
besmirch [bi5smE:tF] vt. 糟蹋（名誉等）
routinely [ru:5ti:nli] adv. 例行公事地
obligation [7Cbli5^eiFEn] n. 职责

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 passionately   

ad.热烈地，激烈地

参考例句：

• She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。
• He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。

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 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。

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

8 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

9 insolvent   

adj.破产的，无偿还能力的

参考例句：

• They lost orders and were insolvent within weeks.他们失去了订货，几周后就无法偿还债务。
• The bank was declared insolvent.银行被宣布破产。

10 incompetence   

n.不胜任，不称职

参考例句：

• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
• She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得，本是老板无能，但她却成了替罪羊。

11 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

12 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

13 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。

14 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。

15 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。

16 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

17 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

18 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。

19 besmirch   

v.污，糟蹋

参考例句：

• He has accused local people of trying to besmirch his reputation.他指责当地人企图败坏他的名声。
• The scandalous remarks in the newspaper besmirch the reputations of every member of the society.报刊上那些恶意中伤的报道败坏了该社团全体成员的名声。

20 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。

21 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

22 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。

23 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

24 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

25 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。