2006年VOA标准英语-US Election Results Could Impact Iraq Policy

By Jim Malone
Washington
24 October 2006

Some opposition¹ Democrats² believe that Republican losses in the November 7 midterm congressional elections would boost the prospects³ for change in U.S. policy toward Iraq.

In a recent conference call with reporters, Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware, an influential⁴ voice on foreign policy, called for fellow Democrats to make the upcoming congressional elections a referendum on the Iraq war.

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Senator Joseph Biden   
  
"I think Iraq is about at the breaking point here and we do not have much time left, in my view, to make some very important decisions to salvage⁵ the situation," said Mr. Biden.

Biden says a Democratic takeover of one or both houses of Congress would open the way for a new bipartisan effort to force changes in the Bush administration's policy toward Iraq.

"If the Democrats make significant gains in the United States Senate and take control of the House, we will be able to forge a bipartisan consensus⁶ for change in Iraq, on Iraqi policy, and put significant pressure on the president to do just that," he added.  "But if the Republicans hold on and there are no significant gains on the part of Democrats, I think President Bush and [Vice⁷ President Dick] Cheney and [Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld will take that as a sign to continue to stay the course."

Biden says several Republican colleagues have expressed interest in a new approach on Iraq, but he declined to identify them.

White House spokesman Tony Snow says the Bush administration is moving away from the 'stay the course' approach on Iraq and is constantly adjusting its tactics to meet challenges on the ground.

 
President George W. Bush (left) speaks during a video teleconference on Iraq with Vice President Dick Cheney, on screen, and military commanders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House 
  
President Bush spoke⁸ about the issue during a recent news conference.

"Stay the course is about a quarter right," he said.  "Stay the course means keep doing what you are doing.  My attitude is, do not do what you are doing if it is not working, change.  Stay the course also means do not leave before the job is done and we are going to get the job done in Iraq."

Democrats have put some Republican candidates on the defensive⁹ over the Iraq issue and even some Republicans have expressed frustration¹⁰ with the situation there in recent weeks.

Among them is Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina.  Graham told the Associated Press that Iraq is on the verge¹¹ of chaos¹² and that the current plan is not working.

Iraqi police officers secure an area in Mosul, 360 kilometers northwest of Baghdad  
  
Recent public-opinion polls indicate Americans disapprove¹³ of the president's handling of Iraq by about a two-to-one ratio with the election less than two weeks away.

The latest survey by The Washington Post and ABC News indicates independent voters now prefer Democratic candidates to Republicans by a wide margin¹⁴, in large part because of the Iraq issue.

Karlyn Bowman of the American Enterprise Institute is a longtime observer of public opinion on Iraq.

"Americans never thought this was going to be a cakewalk [easy]," she said.  "They always expected it to be a very, very long conflict.  But I think they are being worn down by the fact that the situation does not seem to be improving."

The president and many of his Republican allies continue to cast Iraq as the central front in the overall war on terror, an approach that was successful during the 2004 election.

Ohio State University professor John Mueller is an expert on war and public opinion.

"Bush's effort to try to blend those two together is very wise, from his standpoint, if he can demonstrate that [the war on terror] is part of the issue of dealing¹⁵ with Iraq, as he has already found out in a couple of elections," he noted¹⁶.

Midterm congressional elections often revolve¹⁷ around local candidates and local issues.  But this year may be different.

Stephen Hess is a political analyst¹⁸ at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

"It may well be that because of Iraq and other forces this is one of those nationalizing elections.  We shall see," said Mr. Hess.

Democrats need to gain 15 seats in the House of Representatives and six seats in the Senate to regain¹⁹ control of both houses of Congress for the first time since 1994.

1 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。

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 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

4 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

5 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

6 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

7 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。

8 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。

9 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

10 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

11 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

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。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

12 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

13 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

14 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

15 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

16 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

17 revolve   

vi.(使)旋转；循环出现

参考例句：

• The planets revolve around the sun.行星绕着太阳运转。
• The wheels began to revolve slowly.车轮开始慢慢转动。

18 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。

19 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。