VOA标准英语2008年-US Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul D

By Greg Flakus
Des Moines
02 January 2008

Among the Republican presidential candidates competing for caucus¹ votes in Iowa is a man who has developed a small, but strongly committed following by voicing libertarian principles and opposing the war in Iraq.  Public opinion polls indicate Texas Congressman² Ron Paul is one of the most unlikely candidates to win the Republican nomination³, but as VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Des Moines, he shows no signs of giving up.

Congressman Ron Paul is greeted everywhere he goes by passionate⁴ supporters.  At 72 years of age, he is the oldest candidate in this year's contest, but he draws support from many young working people and college students.

Public opinion polls in the key primary and caucus states indicate he is no threat to the top-tier Republican candidates.  Two U.S. television networks announced this week that he will be excluded from upcoming debates, because he has not broken out of single digits⁵ in nationwide polls.  But he is likely to remain in the race so that he can continue to champion the causes he says are neglected by other candidates.

Paul is a libertarian in terms of political philosophy, so he favors less government intrusion into people's lives.  He ran for president under the Libertarian Party banner in 1988.

As a Republican, he has represented a Texas Congressional district on the Gulf⁶ coast south of Houston, serving from 1977 to 1985 and from 1997 to now.  While many Republicans identify with his views, especially when he advocates smaller government, polls show the majority reject some of his key ideas on foreign policy and defense⁷.  He is the only Republican candidate who has opposed the U.S. effort in Iraq.

In a VOA interview last year, Paul argued that he represents a more traditional Republican stance on foreign affairs than President Bush.

"Bush ran on the program of a humble⁸ foreign policy, no nation building and do not police the world," he said.  "Traditional Republicans and conservatives have had a much different approach to this.  We do not need to be doing this.  We should be concentrating on a strong national defense and dealing⁹ with our safety and our borders.  But here we forget ourselves and we are bankrupting our country."

But his suggestion during a debate that U.S. the consequences of those attacks.

"That is really an extraordinary statement.  It is an extraordinary statement, as someone who lived through the attack of September 11th, that we invited the attack because we were attacking Iraq," he said.  "I do not think I have ever heard that before and I have heard some pretty absurd explanations for September 11th."

Many other Republicans have also criticized Ron Paul's approach to foreign policy.  A poll in Iowa last year showed 42 percent of Republican respondents viewed Paul unfavorably.  But he has strong support in more libertarian areas of the country, like Montana, where supporters say he could win all 25 of that state's delegates in the caucus to be held on February 5.

That would give him only about one percent of the total delegates at the Republican convention, but having delegates would bolster¹⁰ his participation¹¹ and make him harder to ignore. 

The other factor that will likely keep Ron Paul going for the whole stretch is the depth of support he has among loyal followers¹² and the money he has been able to raise through the Internet and other unconventional means, which he says will allow him to fight on.

"We are competing and we do it quietly and steadily," he explained.  "Fundraising is very cheap on the Internet.  We raise a lot of money and it is gaining.  We raise more money every day and the numbers of people joining us every day are growing rather rapidly."

Ron Paul has a war chest of more than $18 million in campaign contributions that will allow him to buy television time and continue his quest to reduce the U.S. government and radically¹³ change U.S. foreign policy.

1 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

2 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

3 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

4 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

5 digits   

n.数字( digit的名词复数 )；手指，足趾

参考例句：

• The number 1000 contains four digits. 1000是四位数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The number 410 contains three digits. 数字 410 中包括三个数目字。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

9 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。

10 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

11 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

12 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

13 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。