2006年VOA标准英语-Republicans Concerned About Bush's Low App

By Jim Malone
Washington
09 May 2006
 
Two recent public opinion polls show President Bush's approval ratings in the low to mid-30s, and those low numbers are a major concern for Republicans hoping to hold onto control of Congress in midterm elections in November.

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Opposition¹ Democrats³ are growing increasingly confident of gains in the upcoming congressional midterm election, and some political analysts⁵ believe it is possible that Democrats could retake control of either the Senate or House of Representatives.

Historically, the party that controls both the White House and Congress tends to suffer losses during a president's second term.

But Republicans are also worried that President Bush's low public approval ratings and continuing concern about Iraq could hurt their efforts to keep control of both the House and Senate.

President Bush has vowed⁶ to stick to his second term agenda and ignore the polls.

 
George W. Bush 
  
"I hear voices of discontent and I am just going to do the best I can do based on what I think is right," he said.  "There is too much flattery, too much ego⁷, too much criticism, too much noise, too much politics, too much that, for a president to kind of grope his way around looking at the latest public opinion poll.  In my judgment⁸, it does not serve the nation well."

Democrats need to gain six seats to retake control of the Senate and 15 seats to win back the House.

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi of California leads House Democrats and is hoping to become the first woman speaker of the House should Democrats regain⁹ control.

She spoke¹⁰ on NBC's Meet the Press program.

"Our party is standing¹¹ for honest leadership and open government," she said.  "We will turn the most corrupt¹² Congress in history into the most honest and open Congress and maybe it will take a woman to clean up the House."

A Democratic takeover in either the House or Senate would allow Democratic committee chairmen to initiate¹³ congressional inquiries¹⁴ on a range of issues, including the use of intelligence prior to the Iraq war and the high cost of fuel at home.

 
Karl Rove arrives at federal court in Washington, Wednesday, April 26, 2006  
  
The president's top political adviser¹⁵, Karl Rove, warns about the prospect¹⁶ of Democrat² inspired investigations¹⁷ as one way of motivating Republicans in advance of the November congressional elections.

But many Republican candidates for the Senate and House may have to put some distance between themselves and the president.

Jennifer Palmieri worked in the Clinton administration and is now with the Center for American Progress, a Washington-based public policy research group.

"And the problem for Bush is that the longer his public approval ratings stay in the 30's, the more concerned Republican members of Congress become about associating themselves with him," she said.

Public concern about Iraq and gas prices at home also presents challenges for the Republicans.

Norman Ornstein is an expert on Congress and the presidency¹⁸ at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.  He appeared on VOA's Talk to America program.

"But what has happened in the last couple of months is that Republicans, including a lot of the president's base, are becoming unhappy and disillusioned," he noted¹⁹.  "The immigration issue in particular is going to, I think, continue to create those divisions."

The president likes to say he ignores public opinion polls.  But under new chief of staff Josh Bolten, the Bush White House responded quickly to the latest spike²⁰ in fuel prices and that has some Republicans hopeful about a turnaround in public support.

"Bush has to do a number of things, which he is beginning to do," said Stephen Wayne, a political scientist at Georgetown University in Washington.  "Number one, he is listening to people and he is taking questions and he is admitting, you know, I feel your pain, I know you are going through some hard times.  Two, he is trying to bring some new people into the White House to change his public persona."

Local issues often decide congressional elections, even when one or both major parties try to nationalize the political stakes.

But many analysts believe this year could bring some upheaval²¹ in Congress if Republicans remain downbeat about their prospects²².

"In midterm elections, it is all about [voter] turnout," said analyst⁴ Norman Ornstein.  "And if Republicans are just not all that enthusiastic and don't turn out in greater than average numbers, Democrats, who are very unhappy, are going to turn out in substantial numbers and that could make the difference between having a majority and losing a majority."

All 435 House seats will be up for election in November, even though only about 40 to 50 races are seen as genuinely competitive.  In addition, 33 of the 100 Senate seats will be contested.

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 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。

3 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》

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 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

7 ego   

n.自我，自己，自尊

参考例句：

• He is absolute ego in all thing.在所有的事情上他都绝对自我。
• She has been on an ego trip since she sang on television.她上电视台唱过歌之后就一直自吹自擂。

8 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

9 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。

10 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。

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

12 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

13 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

14 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

16 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

17 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

18 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。

19 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。

20 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

21 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

22 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。