2006年VOA标准英语-Internet Technology Makes Big Impact in US Camp

By Barry Newhouse
Washington, DC
25 October 2006
 
watch Youth Vote, Internet

With the American election season in its final weeks, candidates are scrambling¹ for any advantage to help them win at the polls on November seventh. This year more politicians than ever before are relying on the Internet to connect with voters, promote their platform and of course, attack their opponents. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports on one of the most famous new tactics of the campaign season -- publishing homemade political videos on the Internet. 

 
George Allen's Web site
George Allen is a Republican senator from Virginia running for re-election. Some observers thought the six-year Senate veteran would not only easily win re-election, but might also run for president in 2008. That was before his political opponent submitted a grainy video of Allen to the YouTube Web site. There, hundreds of thousands of viewers watched him use an obscure racist² slur³ to describe a cameraman working for his opponent.

"So welcome, let's give a welcome to, let's give a welcome to Macaca here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia."

Senator Allen called Indian-American S.R. Sidarth "macaca," which in some places means "monkey." After just a few days, the video dramatically changed the Virginia Senate race as the news media reported on the controversy⁴.

Allen spent weeks apologizing and denying that he is racist, but the incident shook his re-election campaign and altered the Virginia Senate race.  

S.R. Sidarth says, "I was humiliated⁵." Sidarth is a new kind of political campaign worker, called a "tracker," who follows candidates with a video camera, waiting for an embarrassing gaffe⁶ that can be turned into political gain.

 
YouTube Web site
Tracker videos are published on Web sites such as "YouTube," which did not exist during the last election season in 2004, but it now broadcasts about 70 million video clips each day.

This election season, political advertisements on television remain the single most powerful method campaigns use to influence voters' opinions.

But political strategists see the Internet as an increasingly valuable campaign tool. A recent forum⁷ at George Washington University in Washington gave campaign consultants⁸ the opportunity to hear advice from Internet entrepreneurs such as gather-dot-com founder¹⁰ Tom Gerace.

 
Tom Gerace
"There's a fundamental shift that's happening in the media space. And it is as our introductory speaker suggested, a shift away from centrally-created, centrally-controlled, centrally-edited, centrally-organized media; toward user-created, user-controlled, user-organized media."

For politicians, more user-generated content means more trackers like S.R. Sidarth filming their every move. Internet strategist Matthew Zablud says candidates running for office are now in the public spotlight¹¹ more than ever before. "There's no question I think the Internet has played a role in that. I think that's extremely positive, candidates are going to have to get used to it."

 
Matthew Zablud
Zablud is vice⁹ president of RightClick Strategies. The company advises corporations and political campaigns about using the Internet to communicate with the public.

At its Washington office, young employees in their 20s and early 30s are doing a brisk business designing Web sites for clients, running blogs and administering email groups.

Zablud says candidates are spending more money on Internet communications. But despite the notoriety of tactics like the macaca video, he says the Internet is still only one part of a broader communications strategy.

"The macaca story, it was a big story when it hit online. It was a massive story when the Washington Post went after it. You've got to take these things and look at them and say it's not just the online component¹² that's driving them. "

Zablud says the Internet is now mainly used to raise money and organize supporters, but the technology is aiming at a new milestone¹³. He says that among political strategists, the real test for the Internet is when it will be able to compete with television in winning-over undecided voters.

1 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》

2 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

3 slur   

v.含糊地说；诋毁；连唱；n.诋毁；含糊的发音

参考例句：

• He took the remarks as a slur on his reputation.他把这些话当作是对他的名誉的中伤。
• The drug made her speak with a slur.药物使她口齿不清。

4 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。

5 humiliated   

感到羞愧的

参考例句：

• Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当，父母也失体面。
• He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻，丢尽了面子。

6 gaffe   

n.（社交上令人不快的）失言，失态

参考例句：

• I had no idea of the gaffe which I was committing.我不清楚我犯了什么错误。
• He made an embarrassing gaffe at the convention last weekend.他在上周末的会议上出了洋相，狼狈不堪。

7 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

8 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

9 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。

10 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

11 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

12 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

13 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。