voa标准英语2008年-Palin Seen As Key Player In Republican Party

Following Democrat¹ Barack Obama's victory in last week's presidential election, Republicans have begun a period of self-reflection about what went wrong and how to improve their prospects³ in the future. Any discussion of the party's future has to include Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who energized⁴ social conservatives as John McCain's vice⁵ presidential running mate. VOA national correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.
　

Republican vice presidential nominee6 Sarah Palin speaks during a rally in Ohio, 29 Sep 2008

Sarah Palin has not exactly shunned⁷ the limelight since the Republican ticket lost the election.

Palin was one of the headline speakers at a meeting of Republican governors in Florida.

"So now with the recent elections wrapped up, yup, on the federal level we are now the minority party," said Sarah Palin. "But let us resolve not to become the negative party, too eager to find fault or unwilling⁸ to help in this time of crisis and war. Losing an election does not have to mean losing our way."

Palin has also given several interviews in recent days, and clearly sounds interested in the possibility of running for president four years from now.

"I am not ruling that out," she said. "But there again, that is based on my philosophy that it is crazy to close a door before you even know it is open in front of you. You just have to be prepared and when you see opportunity and preparation meet, that is how you know that a door is open and you are ready to go through it."
　

Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin during Republican Governors Association Annual Conference in Miami, 13 Nov 2008

Sarah Palin is an appealing figure for many in the Republican Party, especially social conservatives. John McCain's decision to pick Governor Palin as his running mate excited social conservatives at the Republican convention.

But a series of television interviews during the presidential campaign raised questions about Palin's experience and readiness for national office.

John Fortier is with the American Enterprise Institute. He is a guest on VOA's Encounter program.

"But she was also very inexperienced and that certainly hurt her," said John Fortier. "Initially⁹ she had some appeal in the middle, and that dissipated as her inexperience came out. She was very strong with the [Republican] base. But at the end of the day, she was at best a wash and perhaps a small negative as the vice presidential pick."

A draft Palin for president effort is already underway in North Carolina, and some conservative activists¹⁰ see her as a potential presidential nominee in 2012.

David Frum is a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush.

"But the main thing to do is to get back to the Republican Party of 1994 and reiterate¹¹ and reaffirm those core convictions under a nominee, possibly like Sarah Palin, or else under an intensified¹² Mitt¹³ Romney, someone who can do again what was done in the past," said David Frum.

Some Republicans see Palin as a bright spot in an otherwise bleak¹⁴ political landscape, at least in the short term. Beginning in January, Republicans will be without the White House for the first time in eight years, and will be a reduced minority party in Congress as well.

Political analyst¹⁵ Norman Ornstein says Republicans will be doing some soul-searching in the months ahead, trying to figure out how to better appeal to important voting groups such as moderate suburbanites, Hispanic-Americans, and women.

"And right now, finding a winning coalition¹⁶, an enduring coalition in regions, in demographic groups or ideologically¹⁷, is really, really difficult for Republicans," said Norman Ornstein.

Republicans will look to begin their comeback two years from now, in the mid-term congressional elections of 2010.

Scot Faulkner worked for former President Ronald Reagan and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Faulkner says Palin could begin laying the groundwork for a presidential run in 2012 by campaigning for Republican congressional candidates in 2010.

"There is going to be a very lively discussion within the party," said Scot Faulkner. "The first one is going to be, who lost the election? Was it because of Bush? Was it because of Palin? Was it because of the Republicans in Congress? So there will be a lot of finger-pointing for the next six months and then people will start focusing on candidates for the off-year [congressional] elections in 2010, and then you will start to see the presidential candidates emerge to help those congressional candidates, and then we are off to the races for the next round."

Social conservatives are clearly excited by the prospect² of Sarah Palin running for president one day. But exit polls on Election Day found a majority of voters do not believe Palin has enough experience to be vice president or president, suggesting she has work to do to win over moderate Republicans and independent voters.

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 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。

3 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。

4 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

5 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。

6 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

7 shunned   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。
• He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人，总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

9 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 reiterate   

v.重申，反复地说

参考例句：

• Let me reiterate that we have absolutely no plans to increase taxation.让我再一次重申我们绝对没有增税的计划。
• I must reiterate that our position on this issue is very clear.我必须重申我们对这一项议题的立场很清楚。

12 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

14 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

15 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。

16 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

17 ideologically   

adv. 意识形态上地，思想上地

参考例句：

• Ideologically, they have many differences. 在思想意识上，他们之间有许多不同之处。
• He has slipped back ideologically. 他思想退步了。