VOA常速英语2008年-Democratic Presidential Candidate Obama Raises

By Cindy Saine
Washington
07 February 2008

Senator Barack Obama has raised more than $7 million for his presidential campaign in the hours since the Super Tuesday voting contests this week.  This new wave of fundraising comes as Obama's Democratic opponent, Senator Hillary Clinton, said she loaned her campaign $5 million of her own money late last month.  VOA Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.

Senators Clinton and Obama were both fundraising giants in 2007, far outpacing all other Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, with each raising $100 million.  But Obama raised $32 million in January, to Clinton's $13 million, causing concern among her supporters, many of whom have already given the maximum amount permitted by law. 

More of Obama's supporters are small Internet contributors who can give more as the campaign continues. Some of Clinton's senior campaign staff members are working without a paycheck right now.

The campaigns are looking ahead to contests this Saturday in Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington state, and February 12 primaries in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.  Polls show Obama is favored in most of those states, though Clinton says she is competitive in Virginia, where she will hold a rally later today.

Obama sounded his primary theme of bringing change to America during a campaign rally at Tulane University in New Orleans ahead of Saturday's Louisiana primary.

"What we see in New Orleans is one of the central premises² of my campaign and that is change in America does not happen from the top down, it happens from the bottom up," he said.

Obama said for many, New Orleans has become a symbol of failed government since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

"We can talk about what happened for a few days in 2005 and we should," he added.  "We can talk about levees that could not hold... about a president who only saw the people from the window of an airplane instead of down here on the ground, trying to provide comfort and aid."

Obama promised he would strengthen the levees so that they can withstand strong hurricanes if he is elected president.

In the all-important race for delegates, Democrats³ are still counting from Tuesday's 22 contests, under the complex, proportional system of awarding delegates, but Clinton and Obama are nearly even.

Republicans use a winner-take-all system in awarding delegates in most states.  Arizona Senator John McCain emerged from Super Tuesday as his party's clear frontrunner, with 707 of the nearly 1,200 delegates needed to secure the nomination⁴. 

McCain asked right-wing talks show hosts and pundits⁵ who have criticized him to see if there are areas they can all agree on.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt¹ Romney dropped his bid for the Republican nomination in Washington Thursday, two days after winning some states in Super Tuesday voting, but not enough to gain on rival John McCain.

Romney had totaled 294 delegates up to this point, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has 195 and Texas Congressman⁶ Ron Paul has 14. Huckabee and Paul are still in the race.

1 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。

2 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

3 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》

4 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。

5 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

6 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。