VOA标准英语2008年-Presidential Debates Often Pivotal in US Electi

On Friday, presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain are scheduled to hold the first of three debates ahead of November's election. Presidential debates have often played a crucial role in U.S. election campaigns in the past, as we hear from VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone.
　
Sen. John F. Kennedy (r) speaks and Vice¹ President Richard Nixon listens during the fourth presidential debate from a New York TV studio, 21 Oct 1960

The first televised presidential debate was held during the election campaign of 1960.

"The candidates need no introduction," said the debate moderator Howard K. Smith. "The Republican candidate is Vice President Richard M. Nixon and the Democratic candidate is Senator John F. Kennedy."

Kennedy's youthful appearance helped him on television. Nixon suffered from a cold and bad makeup³.

"I think in the final analysis, it depends on what we do here. I think it is time America started moving again," Kennedy said.

"There is no question but that we cannot discuss our internal affairs in the United States without recognizing that they have a tremendous bearing on our international position," said Nixon.

Those who watched the debates on television generally thought Kennedy was the winner. Many of those who listened on radio gave the edge to Nixon.

Kennedy narrowly won the election that year. And even though Nixon eventually won two presidential elections in 1968 and 1972, he never took part in another presidential debate.

In the 1976 election campaign, incumbent⁴ Republican President Gerald Ford⁵ trailed badly in the polls for much of the year behind his Democratic challenger, Jimmy Carter.

Ford nearly came back to win the election that year, but stumbled in one of his debates with Carter when he tried to argue that Eastern Europe was not controlled by the Soviet⁶ Union.

"There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford administration," he said.

While much attention is paid to what is said in the debates, they can also be won or lost based on how the candidates speak and even their non-verbal body language.
　
President Bush (l) talks with independent candidate Ross Perot as Democratic candidate Bill Clinton (r) stands aside at the end of their second presidential debate in Richmond, Virginia, 15 Oct 1992

In the 1992 debates with Democrat² Bill Clinton and Independent candidate Ross Perot, then President George H. W. Bush appeared bored with the discussion and at one point was caught on camera looking at his watch.

In 2000, Democrat Al Gore⁷ let out a loud sigh while his opponent, then Texas Governor George W. Bush, was answering a question.

Most of the time, presidential debates feature the candidates repeating the same policy talking points they have uttered over and over again on the campaign trail.

But there are moments when one candidate or another is able to crystallize for voters what is at stake in the election.

Such a moment came in a 1980 debate when Republican Ronald Reagan took on President Jimmy Carter.

"Next Tuesday, all of you will go to the polls and stand there in the polling place and make a decision," he said. "I think when you make that decision, it might be well if you ask yourself, 'Are you better off than you were four years ago?'"

Political analyst⁸ Norman Ornstein says that moment proved crucial for Reagan as he tried to convince voters that he was up to the job of being president.

"And it wasn't really until we had that debate, just barely 10 days before the election, where Reagan went head-to-head in that direct comparison with Carter and not only reframed the election, as in 'Are you better off now than you were four years ago?' But he also showed that he was anything but some crazy man and that he was a reasonable person who could stand toe-to-toe with the President of the United States and more than hold his own that we saw the poll numbers change pretty dramatically over the closing days of the campaign," he said.

Reagan is also remembered for his humor in presidential debates. After a poor performance in his first debate in his 1984 bid for re-election, Reagan chose to make fun of his age during his second debate with Democrat Walter Mondale.

"I will not make age an issue in this campaign," he said. "I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience."

Mondale laughed along with the audience.

After the debate, Mondale told his wife that he was almost certain that he was going to lose the election that year. He was right. Reagan went on to a landslide⁹ re-election victory.

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

4 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

5 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

6 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

7 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。