VOA常速英语2008年-Race Emerges as Complicated Issue in US Preside

By Jim Malone
Washington
29 April 2008
 

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama's relationship with his controversial former pastor², the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, has put the spotlight³ on race as an issue in this year's U.S. presidential campaign. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.

Reverend Wright has re-emerged in recent days to become a major distraction⁴ for the Obama campaign.

Wright is standing⁵ by many of his controversial remarks, including the notion that an oppressive U.S. foreign policy brought about the 2001 terrorist attacks and that the government created the AIDS virus to conduct genocide against African-Americans.

Wright also told an audience in Washington this week that he will not fade into the background if Obama wins the presidency⁶.

"I am a pastor, he is a member. I am not a spiritual mentor⁷, a guru. I am his pastor," he said. "And I said to Barack Obama last year that if you get elected, November the 5th I am coming after you because you will be representing a government whose policies grind under people. It is about policy, not the American people."

On Tuesday, Obama said he was outraged⁸ and saddened by Wright's comments, which he called divisive and destructive.

"When he states and then amplifies⁹ such ridiculous propositions as the U.S. government somehow being involved in AIDS, when he equates¹⁰ the United States wartime efforts with terrorism, then there are no excuses. They offend me, they rightly offend all Americans and they should be denounced," he said.

The renewed focus on Wright comes at a crucial time in the lengthy¹¹ and bitter fight for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination¹² between Obama and rival Hillary Clinton.

Obama remains¹³ ahead in the delegate count and both contenders face a major test next Tuesday in primaries in North Carolina and Indiana.

The Wright controversy¹⁴ may be hurting Obama's efforts to broaden his appeal among working class white voters, who have preferred Clinton in recent primaries in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

In Pennsylvania, one in six white voters said race was a factor for them in choosing between Obama and Clinton, and three-quarters of those voted for Clinton.

University of Virginia political expert Larry Sabato says voters historically have been reluctant to admit that race can play a role in their decisions.

"The exit polls have been wrong repeatedly during this long primary process, and there are almost always wrong in the same direction. They overestimate¹⁵ Obama's support. Why? Is it because some white voters are leaving the exit polls and either telling the exit pollsters they voted for Obama when they did not, or are they just refusing to participate disproportionately in the exit poll? I think the answer is yes. That is what is going on," he said.

This phenomenon has come to be known as the Bradley effect.

In 1982, exit polls in the California governor's race showed Democrat¹ Tom Bradley, an African-American, was running ahead of his Republican opponent, who was white. Bradley wound up losing the election, and pollsters said they believed some white voters were reluctant to tell them that they were opposed to an African-American candidate.

Expert Larry Sabato says Obama should be wary¹⁶ of the so-called Bradley effect if he becomes the Democratic nominee¹⁷.

"It is called racial leakage¹⁸. We have seen it repeatedly in American history, and it is going to demonstrate itself again in 2008. It already has. If Obama is the nominee, he had better be leading by a substantial margin¹⁹ in pre-election polls because he is going to lose some of those percentage points on election day," he said.

But other experts question the extent to which race is playing a role in the Democratic contest.

"I am skeptical²⁰ that this effect is as large as many people believe it is, at least among Democrats²¹. It might be larger in the larger electorate²², which will include a lot of people who would not vote for an African-American candidate, but many of whom would not vote for a Democrat anyhow. And a whole lot of others that we know from surveys suggesting that voting for a woman just as many challenges," said Norman Ornstein, a political scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.

Senator Obama told Fox News Sunday that he believes race will not be the decisive issue in either the battle for the Democratic nomination or in the November general election.

"Is race still a factor in our society? Yes. I do not think anybody would deny that. Is that going to be the determining factor in a general election? No, because I am absolutely confident that the American people are looking for somebody who can solve their problems," he said. "If I lose, it will not be because of race. It will be because I made mistakes on the campaign trail, I was not communicating effectively my plans in terms of helping²³ them in their everyday lives." 

Several public opinion polls in recent months suggest Americans are more ready for an African-American president than a woman president.

In two different surveys, more than 70 percent of those asked said the country is ready for a black president, compared to just over 60 percent who said the same about a woman president.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

3 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

4 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

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 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

8 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

9 amplifies   

放大，扩大( amplify的第三人称单数 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• Gain is the number of times the amplifier amplifies a signal. 增益就是放大器放大信号的倍数。
• Such panicky behaviour amplifies the impact of the Russian export ban. 这样的恐慌行为放大了俄罗斯小麦出口禁令的影响效应。

10 equates   

v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的第三人称单数 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• He equates success with material wealth. 他认为成功等同于物质财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This equates to increased and vigor, better sleep and sharper mental acuity. 也就是说可以起到增强活力，改善睡眠，提高心智的作用。 来自互联网

11 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。

12 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。

13 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。

14 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

15 overestimate   

v.估计过高，过高评价

参考例句：

• Don't overestimate seriousness of the problem.别把问题看重了。
• We overestimate our influence and our nuisance value.我们过高地估计了自己的影响力和破坏作用。

16 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

17 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。

18 leakage   

n.漏，泄漏；泄漏物；漏出量

参考例句：

• Large areas of land have been contaminated by the leakage from the nuclear reactor.大片地区都被核反应堆的泄漏物污染了。
• The continuing leakage is the result of the long crack in the pipe.这根管子上的那一条裂缝致使渗漏不断。

19 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

20 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

21 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》

22 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

23 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。