New Book Explores Early Stages of US Presidential Campaigns

 

Nancy Beardsley

The Democratic presidential candidates aren't the only ones caught up in a grueling campaign schedule right now. USA Today political columnist² Walter Shapiro has spent nearly two years traveling from town to town and state to state, observing a constant round of town meetings, hotel speeches, state fairs and barbecues.
"You are sitting in the front seat of a car, hoping the heater works, glancing down at printed-out directions you've taken from a computer, checking schedules, checking your watch, talking desperately³ on the cell phone, both getting caught up in the exhilaration of doing this and wondering, is this really a life for a grown up?"
Walter Shapiro writes about his experience in a new book called One-Car Caravan⁴: On the Road With the 2004 Democrats⁵ Before America Tunes⁶ In.
Reporters are scrambling⁷ to write stories about Massachusetts Senator John Kerry since his surprise victory in the Iowa caucuses⁸. But it won't be nearly as easy to get the kind of access Walter Shapiro got in August 2002, when he and the senator took a plane ride together with Mr. Kerry in the pilot's seat.
"It's a totally sparkling day as we're flying from Boston to Keene, New Hampshire," recalled Mr. Shapiro. "And as John Kerry begins the slow turn to the Keene airport, the cell phone in John Kerry's pocket goes off. And I'm thinking, 'In New York state where I live, it's against the law to talk on a cell phone and drive a car. And he's about to land a plane.' And he did open up the cell phone and hand it to the co-pilot before he made the perfect landing. But the point here was that John Kerry's mother had entered the hospital just that day for what Kerry knew was to be the final illness, and that cell phone was an umbilical cord, if you will, linking John Kerry to his mother's bedside."
That experience gave Walter Shapiro a telling glimpse into how Presidential candidates balance personal worries with the never-ending demands of the campaign trail. It's those kinds of revelations that make the early stages of a campaign his favorite part of the race for the U.S. Presidency⁹. "I was with Howard Dean a couple of days before the Iowa caucuses, and Howard Dean had two full press buses, maybe 70 to 100 reporters traveling with him," he says. "When I started my book, the opening scene is myself, Howard Dean and a lone¹⁰ aide in a Vermont state car going to the neighboring state of New Hampshire in September of 2002. There was a sense that all of these candidates are accessible if you're out there early."
In One-Car Caravan, Walter Shapiro tracks campaigns that would eventually sputter¹¹ to an early end, like that of Florida Senator Bob Graham. Others, like that of Howard Dean, gained momentum¹² in ways no one expected. "In September 2002, I am there as his lone aide hands Howard Dean the first photostat of the first brochure of campaign 2004. And Dean turns to his aide and says, 'Kate, did you get a price on this?' And you really got the feeling that if Kate had said, 'Yes, Governor, it's going to be $6,000, not $4,000,' the entire soap bubble enterprise that was the Dean campaign in those days would just totally collapse¹³. And even though Howard Dean had a rough time in Iowa, he has gone from that moment to being the best-funded Presidential candidate in the history of the Democratic party," he said.
Howard Dean voiced his own brand of self assurance even after finishing third in the Iowa caucuses. "All I can do is fight. That's all I know how to do, is stand up for what I believe in. And what I believe in is ordinary Americans having control of their government again," he said.
Walter Shapiro also watched the candidates assemble staffs, raise funds, and, in some cases, struggle with the most fundamental question of all, whether they really wanted to run for President. That was especially true of John Edwards, a first-term senator from North Carolina. "I managed to follow the entire deliberation in November and December of 2002 as John Edwards wrestled¹⁴ with the question of, 'Do I give up my Senate seat from North Carolina to run for President?' I think for all these candidates in deciding to run, one should never underestimate egoism and ambition. But in the case of Mr. Edwards, there was an underlying¹⁵ idealism as well. He really believed that it would be unpatriotic not to run," he says.
"In the America you and I will build together, we will say no to kids going to bed hungry, no to kids who don't have the clothes to keep them warm, and no, forever, to any American working full time and living in poverty. Not in our America, not in our America, said Mr. Edwards.
After finishing a strong second in the Iowa caucuses, John Edwards has moved on to New Hampshire, where he and other Democratic candidates are waiting for the results of the upcoming primary. Whatever the outcome, Walter Shapiro says the New Hampshire primary marks a turning point. "From here on in we're going to be on charter flights. We're going to be crossing the nation with whoever the surviving candidates are. One will never be more than five miles away from a major airport.

注释：
gruel¹ [5^ruEl] vt. 使精疲力尽
columnist [5kClEmnist] n.（报纸、杂志的）专栏作家
barbecue [5bB:bikju:] n.（吃烤烧食品的）野餐会
glancing [5^lB:nsiN] adj. 偶尔的，间接的
desperately [5despEritli] adj. 不顾一切的，拼命的
exhilaration [i^7zilE5reiFEn] n. 展出者，参展单位
umbilical cord 脐带
glimpse [^limps] vi. 约略提到
photostat [5fEutEustAt] n. 直接影印机（制品）
bubble [5bQbl] n. 泡
deliberation [di7libE5reiFEn] n. 审议
underestimate [5QndEr5estimeit] n. 低估
egoism [5i:^Euiz(E)m] n. 利己主义
ambition [Am5biF(E)n] n. 野心，雄心
unpatriotic [5QnpAtri5Ctik] adj. 不爱国的

1 gruel   

n.稀饭，粥

参考例句：

• We had gruel for the breakfast.我们早餐吃的是粥。
• He sat down before the fireplace to eat his gruel.他坐到壁炉前吃稀饭。

2 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

3 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

4 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

5 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》

6 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

11 sputter   

n.喷溅声；v.喷溅

参考例句：

• The engine gave a sputter and died.引擎发出一阵劈啪声就熄火了。
• Engines sputtered to life again.发动机噼啪噼啪地重新开动了。

12 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

13 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

14 wrestled   

v.（与某人）搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 )；扭成一团；扭打；（与…）摔跤

参考例句：

• As a boy he had boxed and wrestled. 他小的时候又是打拳又是摔跤。
• Armed guards wrestled with the intruder. 武装警卫和闯入者扭打起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。