VOA常速英语2008年-Obama, Clinton Campaigns Clash Over Race Commen

By Cindy Saine
Washington
12 March 2008

Senator Barack Obama scored another decisive primary victory Tuesday, winning the southern state of Mississippi by more than 20 percentage points over Senator Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination¹. Senator Obama has also reacted to comments by a prominent Clinton supporter, who alleged² that Obama has only come so far in the race as he has because he is a black man. VOA Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.

Tuesday's win was the second in four days for Senator Obama, who also won big in Saturday's Wyoming caucuses³. Nearly complete returns from Mississippi showed Obama with 61 percent of the vote and Clinton with 37 percent. Exit polls in Mississippi indicate that more than nine-in-10 African Americans voted for Senator Obama, while seven-in-10 white voters backed Senator Clinton.

The issue of race surfaced again, triggered by remarks made last week by Geraldine Ferraro, who in 1984 became the first woman candidate for vice⁴ president on a major party ticket.

Ferraro, a Clinton fundraiser and supporter, told a California newspaper that Obama would not be in this position in the contest "if he were a white man, or if he were a woman of any color". She said the country is "caught up in the concept."

Senator Obama called Ferraro's comments "patently absurd" and "divisive." He spoke⁵ to ABC News' morning television show.

"I think that if anybody was looking for the quickest path to the presidency⁶, they would not say 'I want to be an African-American man named Barack Obama.' I do not think that is in the handbook for running for president," he said.

Asked if the campaign should sever⁷ its ties to Ms. Ferraro, Senator Obama said that was up to Senator Clinton, but he said he had taken action in similar cases.

"When some of my surrogates have made statements that I do not think were appropriate, they left the campaign," Obama said. "I think that we have to set a tone in the Democratic Party that projects bringing the country together, unifying⁸ the country. I think that is what we are about. And I respect Geraldine Ferraro, she is a trailblazer, and was an inspiration for a lot of people, including myself when she ran."

Former congresswoman Ferraro appeared on the same ABC news program and said she is "absolutely not sorry" about her remarks.

"My comments have been taken so out of context and have been spun⁹ by the Obama campaign as racist¹⁰, that you know, it is doing precisely¹¹ what they do not want done," she said. "It is going into the Democratic Party and dividing us even more."

Ferraro said she was commenting on the historic nature of Obama's candidacy, saying that in 1984, if her name had been "Gerald Ferraro" instead of "Geraldine Ferraro" she would not have been chosen as a vice presidential candidate.

Clinton and Obama are seeking to make history, she as the first woman and he as the first African American to be elected U.S. president.

Their campaigns have a six-week lull¹² in primary contests until Pennsylvania votes on April 22.

1 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。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 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

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 sever   

v.切开，割开；断绝，中断

参考例句：

• She wanted to sever all her connections with the firm.她想断绝和那家公司的所有联系。
• We must never sever the cultural vein of our nation.我们不能割断民族的文化血脉。

8 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

9 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

10 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

11 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

12 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。