VOA标准英语10月-McCain Fights for Pennsylvania, but Obama Ahead i

The eastern U.S. state of Pennsylvania, with its 21 electoral votes, has voted for the Democratic Party in recent presidential elections, but the campaign of Republican John McCain believes it can manage a victory. Even though Democrat¹ Barack Obama has a healthy lead in the Pennsylvania polls, McCain is pouring in resources and making frequent visits hoping to attract support. VOA's Bill Rodgers was in Pennsylvania and reports on the ground game by the two campaigns to win the state.
　

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama addresses supporters in rain at a rally in Chester, Pennsylvania, 28 Oct 2008

MARGIN⁷-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px">The Rosebowl bowling² alley³ in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In this largely working-class city, hit hard by the slowing economy, some of these bowlers⁴ are backing Barack Obama. Amber⁵ Miller⁶, a mother of two young children, is one.

"He just knows what America needs better than what McCain does," she said.

Barack Obama failed to score with many Pennsylvania voters last April when he lost the Democratic primary by a wide margin to Hillary Clinton. She won by connecting more easily with white, blue-collar voters.

Now, even though polls show Obama comfortably ahead in Pennsylvania, rival John McCain sees an opportunity to win by attracting those who voted against Obama in the primary.

"It is great to be here in Pennsylvania, and my friends, we need to win in Pennsylvania on November the 4th," he said.
　

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain urges his supporters to 'stand up and fight' at conclusion of his campaign rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania, 28 Oct 2008

McCain and his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, have made frequent visits to Pennsylvania in an effort to win the state's 21 electoral votes. With a shrinking electoral map of states that favor the Republicans, Pennsylvania has become a must-win for McCain.

Randall Miller is a history professor at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia who specializes in regional politics.

"If they were to even hint that they are giving up on Pennsylvania, it might be a stampede away from the campaign," he said.

"It would almost be like throwing up their hands and saying 'we cannot do it'. So just in terms of morale⁸, in terms of symbolism, etcetera, they have to compete here, and that is what they are doing. They are continuing to pour money into Pennsylvania," he added.

At the McCain field office in Montgomery county outside Philadelphia, campaign volunteers show no sign of giving up. They fill the office, the only one in the county, as they make calls and stuff envelopes with campaign literature in the effort to attract support.

Volunteer Traci Dallas-Opdahl, an independent, is just the kind of voter John McCain wants to attract.

"I really like John McCain and what he stands for, which is really actually independence, he said. "He is his own man, he thinks for himself and he really puts his country before politics."

Montgomery is an affluent⁹ county, rich in Republican votes, and the McCain campaign hopes for a big win to offset¹⁰ Senator Obama's large expected victory margins¹¹ elsewhere in the state, especially in Philadelphia with its large African-American population.

But the Obama campaign senses opportunity in the county, and has opened six field offices there. In the town of Ambler¹², the field office is packed with volunteers, most using their own cell phones to contact voters.

Volunteer coordinator¹³ Doreen Davis, who has worked in several prior presidential campaigns, says she has never seen anything like the level of commitment of these volunteers.

"There are people in this room, school teachers who have recently retired¹⁴ in the area, union workers who are not going in until the night shift tonight," she said. "So yes, I think it is surprising - both the breadth and the depth."

Labor¹⁵ unions have deployed¹⁶ hundreds of members - many from out of state - to work on behalf of the Obama campaign. In Bethlehem, once the second largest producer of steel in the country, members of the United Steelworkers Union go door to door distributing campaign literature for Obama.

But local steelworkers union head Jerry Green senses some resistance among people who normally vote Democratic. The reason, he says, is Obama's skin color.

"I have had conversations with people and you know I can tell it, I can tell," said Green. "They will not come out and tell me they would not vote for a black man but, you know, I just got that feeling. If Barack Obama were white, I think this would be a landslide¹⁷."

But the poor state of the economy may outweigh¹⁸ any vestiges¹⁹ of racial prejudice. .

"Some might vote for McCain as a way of resisting for what to them would not be a brave new world, but a world turned upside down," said Professor Randall Miller. "And others are going to overcome it because there are other concerns besides that and they are going to say 'what is in my best interest.'"

As for young people race does not seem to be a factor.

Those who oppose Obama, such as Chad Corchran of Penn State University, say they do so for other reasons.

"McCain is not perfect, but I think we can believe in him more than Obama," he said.

But more students are like Alysa Harder, who supports Obama.

"Barack Obama is really inspiring, and I think people really feel connected to him and are really excited about him," she said.

Young people, who accounted for about 17 percent of the electorate²⁰ in 2004, do not always turn out on Election Day. But Penn State political scientist Michael Berkman says this year turnout might reach 19 percent because of the excitement generated by Obama.

Ultimately, Berkman predicts Pennsylvania will go Democrat - noting Senator Obama has been spending less time campaigning in the state.

"I believe they think they are going to win it," he said. "I am noticing they are not spending a whole lot of time here these days. They are spending most of their time in red states [states that vote Republican]. I would think we would see them more if they felt they were in trouble in Pennsylvania."

With 1.2 million more registered Democrats²¹ than Republicans in Pennsylvania, Barack Obama appears to be counting on victory in this reliably blue state - a victory that could dash any hope John McCain has of winning the presidency²².

1 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。

2 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？

3 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

4 bowlers   

n.（板球）投球手( bowler的名词复数 )；圆顶高帽

参考例句：

• Many London businessmen wear bowlers. 伦敦的许多商人戴常礼帽。 来自辞典例句
• In America in the 1800s, bowlers began betting money on games. 19世纪在美国，保龄球员们开始在游戏上赌钱。 来自互联网

5 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

6 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

7 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。

8 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

9 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

10 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

11 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

12 ambler   

n.以溜步法走的马，慢慢走的人

参考例句：

• Moving its six crab like legs was the easiest part for Ambler. 动动六条蟹爪似的腿对“漫步者”而言还算最轻松的事。 来自互联网
• A robot cannot have a remotely linked head, as Ambler did. 一个宇航机器人不能象“漫步者”那样，身在太空，头在地球。 来自互联网

13 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

14 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

15 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

16 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

17 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

18 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

19 vestiges   

残余部分( vestige的名词复数 )； 遗迹； 痕迹； 毫不

参考例句：

• the last vestiges of the old colonial regime 旧殖民制度最后的残余
• These upright stones are the vestiges of some ancient religion. 这些竖立的石头是某种古代宗教的遗迹。

20 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

21 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》

22 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。