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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
President-elect Barack Obama during a news conference in Chicago, 11 Dec 2008 |
The president-elect appeared at a news conference in Chicago to announce some key health-care appointments Thursday.
But Mr. Obama quickly addressed the corruption scandal that has engulfed3 Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was arrested on Monday on charges of trying to sell Mr. Obama's now vacant Senate seat.
Mr. Obama said he was as appalled4 and disappointed as anyone by the revelations released by federal prosecutors5 in the Blagojevich case.
"I had no contact with the governor's office," said President-elect Obama. "I did not speak to the governor about these issues. That I know for certain."
Mr. Obama went on to say that he was confident that no members of his transition staff had any involvement in the governor's alleged6 scheme to sell his former Senate seat to the highest bidder7.
"What I want to do is to gather all the facts about any staff contacts that may have taken place between the transition office and the governor's office and we will have those in the next few days and we will present them," Mr. Obama said. "But what I am absolutely certain about is that our office had no involvement in any deal making around my Senate seat. That I am absolutely certain of."
Mr. Obama said he believes that Governor Blagojevich can no longer effectively serve the people of Illinois and that he should resign.
The president-elect said his former Senate seat does not belong to any politician to trade, it belongs to the people of Illinois, and they deserve the best possible representation.
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (2007 file photo) |
Meanwhile, pressure continues to build on Blagojevich to resign.
Illinois State Attorney General Lisa Madigan says she is prepared to ask the state Supreme8 Court to declare Blagojevich unfit to serve.
Illinois Lieutenant-Governor Pat Quinn told NBC's Today show that Blagojevich should resign and that a special election should be held to choose a new senator.
"I have not spoke9 to the governor since the summer of 2007," said Quinn. "I led an effort to try and put recall on the ballot10 as a constitutional amendment11 in Illinois. It has widespread support. And I really think that the governor needs to resign and step aside right now, and I think that will happen."
The Blagojevich scandal also drew comment at the White House from presidential spokeswoman Dana Perino.
"The president believes that it is a very serious situation and the charges are astounding12, but that because it is in the middle of an investigation13 that the U.S. attorney is conducting, we will not have further comment," she said. "The scandal over naming a successor to Mr. Obama to the Senate has drawn14 attention away from the president-elect's efforts to focus on the economy and assemble his incoming administration.
Mr. Obama announced that former Senator Tom Daschle is his choice to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Daschle is expected to lead the incoming administration's effort to reform the U.S. health care system.
1 corruption | |
n.腐败,堕落,贪污 | |
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2 distraction | |
n.精神涣散,精神不集中,消遣,娱乐 | |
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3 engulfed | |
v.吞没,包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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4 appalled | |
v.使惊骇,使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的;丧胆的 | |
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5 prosecutors | |
检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 ); 告发人; 起诉人; 公诉人 | |
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6 alleged | |
a.被指控的,嫌疑的 | |
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7 bidder | |
n.(拍卖时的)出价人,报价人,投标人 | |
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8 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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9 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 | |
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10 ballot | |
n.(不记名)投票,投票总数,投票权;vi.投票 | |
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11 amendment | |
n.改正,修正,改善,修正案 | |
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12 astounding | |
adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊,使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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13 investigation | |
n.调查,调查研究 | |
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14 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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