VOA常速英语2008年-US Democratic Presidential Race Likely to Be Lo

By Jim Malone
Washington
06 February 2008

In the U.S. presidential race, Democrats¹ are preparing for a long battle to select their party nominee² for the White House.  In the Republican race, Senator John McCain has claimed the mantle³ of frontrunner one day after the busiest day of voting so far in the presidential election cycle.  VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone has more on the status of the presidential race from Washington.

The day after the so-called Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses⁵, the Democratic race was a virtual tie between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Obama won more states than Clinton, but Clinton won larger states like California, New York and New Jersey⁶.

Both candidates say they are now prepared for a lengthy⁷ nomination⁸ battle.

Obama spoke⁹ at a news conference in Chicago.

"She has got a familiar and well-appreciated name.  She has got a political machine honed over two decades, and so from my perspective, this makes her the frontrunner in every single contest," he said.  "But we have found is that there is a real thirst for change in this country."

Clinton told supporters in New York that she is the candidate with the experience to deal with a weakening U.S. economy.

"It is not about who is up and who is down.  It is about your lives, your families and your futures," she said.

Democrats allocate¹⁰ their nominating delegates based on a system of proportional representation.  That means that even though a candidate may lose a primary or caucus⁴ vote in a given state, he or she will still win a share of the delegates who make the final choice for the party nominee.

"When you look at the math, you see plenty of things for each side to brag¹¹ about," said Larry Sabato, who directs the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.  "But you do not see an enormous advantage for one side or the other.  So obviously, the campaign moves forward and we have a whole series of primaries and caucuses to come and every one of them is going to count."

The Democratic race moves to Louisiana and Washington state on Saturday, then to Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia next Tuesday.

If the Clinton-Obama race remains¹² close after those contests, a frontrunner may not emerge until March or April when some other large delegate rich states vote - including Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The last time the Democrats had a truly contested national nominating convention was in 1952.

Veteran broadcaster Bruce Morton has covered U.S. politics for decades and says this year's Democratic race might not be decided¹³ until the party convention in Denver, Colorado, in late August.

"I think it is great fun, in the first place.  I have been going to political conventions since 1960 and we have never had a contest at a convention, and we may this year," he noted¹⁴.  "We do not know yet, there are some big states that still have to vote.  But the Democrats, particularly because they use proportional representation, the winner does not win it all.  You know, you have won California, but we are splitting up the delegates.  You have won Ohio, but we are splitting up the delegates.  This really could be a two-ballot convention."

Unlike the Democratic race, a clear frontrunner has emerged on the Republican side, where the rules are different and the winner of each state contest generally wins all of the delegates.

Senator John McCain of Arizona won several large states Tuesday including California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois and has amassed¹⁵ a sizable lead in the race for Republican delegates.

McCain told a news conference in Phoenix¹⁶ he will continue to shore up support among conservative Republicans who have frequently accused him of taking liberal positions on issues such as taxes and immigration.

"We will unite the party behind our conservative principles and move forward and win the general election in November," he said.

McCain still faces a challenge from former governors Mitt¹⁷ Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas.

Huckabee had a surprisingly good showing in some of the southern primaries on Tuesday, while Romney registered wins in his home state and in some of the smaller states out West.

Huckabee and Romney have vowed¹⁸ to continue in the race, hoping to tap into conservative discontent with McCain.

Republican pollster John McLaughlin says McCain has surged into a lead in the Republican field, because voters like his record on national security issues.

"Sooner or later, they are going to come down to the job description that makes the president different than any other elected position, his being commander in chief," he explained.  "That is why John McCain has the lead right now among the Republicans.  And that is why the Democrats are going to have a serious discussion about who is the best to challenge McCain in that regard."

Many political analysts¹⁹ now believe McCain may be able to secure the Republican presidential nomination before the national nominating convention is held in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, in early September.

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 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。

3 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

4 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。

5 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

6 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

7 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

8 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。

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 allocate   

vt.分配，分派；把…拨给；把…划归

参考例句：

• You must allocate the money carefully.你们必须谨慎地分配钱。
• They will allocate fund for housing.他们将拨出经费建房。

11 brag   

v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的

参考例句：

• He made brag of his skill.他夸耀自己技术高明。
• His wealth is his brag.他夸张他的财富。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

15 amassed   

v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
• They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

17 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。

18 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

19 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。