VOA常速英语2008年-Clinton Hopes for Resurgence After Pennsylvania

By Jim Malone
Washington
23 April 2008

Senator Hillary Clinton's convincing win over rival Barack Obama in Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary means the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination¹ will go on for several more weeks, and perhaps longer. But as VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington, many experts believe Clinton may be running out of time and money in her bid to win the nomination.

A loss in Pennsylvania most likely would have ended Hillary Clinton's campaign for the White House. So it was a thankful Clinton who told supporters that she now has the momentum² to continue in the race indefinitely.

"You made your voices heard, and because of you, the tide is turning," she said.

University of Virginia political expert Larry Sabato says Clinton's convincing win in Pennsylvania will allow her to fight on for the nomination, even though she continues to trail Barack Obama in pledged delegates and in the number of popular votes won.

"Her theory of politics is really the same as her husband's. You stay alive in politics for another day. You live day by day and you hope that as long as you are alive you have the opportunity to serve as a lightning rod, and that lightning will strike," he said.

Democratic Party rules make it difficult for Clinton to catch Obama in the delegate count because Clinton would have to win the remaining primaries by huge margins³ to significantly cut into Obama's lead.

Clinton's immediate⁴ challenge is to use the victory to boost her fundraising. Obama has millions of dollars to spend in the nine remaining Democratic contests between now and June 3.

Most experts still give Obama the edge for the nomination, even after Clinton's win in Pennsylvania.

Obama keeps trying to focus on the presumptive Republican nominee⁵, Senator John McCain, and reminds voters of his pledge to be a unifying⁶ figure if elected president.

"We are not as divided as our politics suggest. We may have different stories, we may have different backgrounds, but we hold common hopes for the future of this country that we love," he said.

But Obama is having trouble cutting into Clinton's base of support, and some Democrats⁷ are concerned that could be a problem for Obama should he become the party nominee in the November election.

"Clinton continued to win the votes of women, older voters and lower income households, while Obama won the support of African-Americans and younger people. No real surprise there. Clinton also won the majority of voters who believe the economy is the key national issue, and Obama won among those who think they want a candidate who can bring about change," said Leonie Huddy, a political science professor at State University of New York at Stony⁸ Brook⁹.

Clinton is hoping that her victory in Pennsylvania will help convince the so-called superdelegates that she would be the stronger Democratic nominee against John McCain.

Superdelegates are party officeholders and activists¹⁰ who will attend the Democratic nominating convention in late August as uncommitted delegates who can vote for either candidate. More than half of the 800 superdelegates are already pledged to either Clinton or Obama, but the rest remain uncommitted.

Sabato believes it is unlikely that the remaining uncommitted superdelegates would be drawn¹¹ to support Clinton if Obama continues to lead in the delegate count and in the popular vote at the end of the primary season in early June.

"Yes, I think they are having doubts. But that does not mean they are going to abandon him or not choose him. They are in a tough position," he said. "How do you say no to the first African-American candidate who has a real chance to win the presidency¹² when he is going to lead in pledged delegates and popular votes? How do you say no when he is representing the constituency most loyal to the Democratic Party?

Sabato also believes that Republican John McCain could benefit from the lengthy¹³ and bitter Democratic race if it continues for the next few months.

"It is going to cause some trouble and Democrats are worried, and appropriately so, by the consistent exit polls results showing that a sizable proportion of the Clinton backers will not vote for Obama in November, and vice-versa. That is not a good sign," he said.

The next test for the Democratic candidates comes May 6 when Indiana and North Carolina hold primaries. Obama is favored in North Carolina, but the latest polls show a close race in Indiana where both candidates are expected to spend lots of time during the next several days.

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 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

3 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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》

8 stony   

adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的

参考例句：

• The ground is too dry and stony.这块地太干，而且布满了石头。
• He listened to her story with a stony expression.他带着冷漠的表情听她讲经历。

9 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

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 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

12 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。

13 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。

14 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

15 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。