2007年VOA标准英语-Bush Prepares for State of the Union Speech

By Scott Stearns
White House
19 January 2007

U.S. President George Bush stands before the American people next Tuesday for the annual State of the Union address. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, administration officials say this year's address will be different from those he has given in the past.

 
Tony Snow 
White House Spokesman Tony Snow says this year's State of the Union address will not be the traditional laundry list of administration proposals describing what each government department will do in the coming year.

"It's not going to be a typical State of the Union address in the sense of going in great length through all the budget items, and it's not going to take a comprehensive look at all portions of the budget," he said. "It will address major issues including the war on terror, energy, health care, immigration, and education."

By focusing more clearly on a smaller number of issues, Snow says President Bush hopes to connect more directly with the American people on the challenges ahead.

"Part of the calculation here is that a lot of time these speeches they just go on and on and you lose people. It is better to spend some time focusing on big issues so that people do get a sense of your engagement with them. And there will be opportunities to pick up other topics in much greater detail later on," said Snow.

One of the reasons for that change is that the president's political party no longer controls both houses of Congress. Democrats¹ took charge of the Senate and House of Representatives in legislative² elections last November that were dominated by the war in Iraq.

 
President George Bush concludes his address to the nation from the White House Library, 10 Jan 2007
The president last week announced what he says will be a new way forward in that conflict, including more than 20,000 additional U.S. troops. While Mr. Bush will certainly address the challenges in Iraq, White House officials say he will not use the State of the Union to go through those details again or respond directly to criticism from Democrats and some Republicans.

Instead, Snow says Mr. Bush will focus on issues where he believes Republicans and Democrats can make progress.

He said, "It's important to emphasize the areas where you can work together, and so in that sense maybe it does reflect a little bit of the political reality. But also, just as a presentational point of view, you want people to watch."

Democrats have chosen newly elected Virginia Senator Jim Webb to deliver their response to the State of the Union. Webb has been an outspoken³ critic of the war in Iraq, where he son is serving in combat.

 
Harry⁴ Reid (5 Jan 2007)
The Democratic leader of the Senate, Harry Reid, says his party, while making clear its opposition⁵ to the president's plan for Iraq, will also seek to restore the sense of cross-party cooperation that followed the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

He said, "This year we must reclaim⁶ that bipartisan spirit felt after 9/11. It shouldn't take a national tragedy to get us to work together."

"We should be equally inspired by the responsibility to keep America safe. From Afghanistan to energy, our challenges are great but we know America can meet them. And we know and must begin by changing course in Iraq," he added.

Reid says voters clearly demonstrated their opposition to the president's leadership on Iraq in last year's legislative elections.

Public opinion polls show a majority of Americans oppose sending more troops to Iraq.

Snow says that is because most people do not understand the entirety of the president's plan.

1 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》

2 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

3 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

4 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

5 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。

6 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。