VOA标准英语2009年-Liberal Democrats Could Complicate Obama's

By Jim Malone
Washington
28 September 2009

President Barack Obama's political challenges on health care reform and future U.S. involvement in Afghanistan are expected to grow in the weeks ahead. The president's political skills will be put to the test as he deals with a reinvigorated Republican opposition¹ and an increasingly vocal² liberal faction³ in his own Democratic Party disenchanted with his efforts to move to the political center.

 
President Barack Obama (file photo)
In political terms, President Obama may soon find himself between a rock and a hard place when it comes to the future of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.

On one hand, congressional Republicans are pressing the president to beef up U.S. forces to ensure a victory over al-Qaida and the Taliban.

"If we abandon Afghanistan, it will return to a safe haven⁴ for the Taliban and al-Qaida to plan and execute more attacks on Americans," said Republican House leader, Congressman⁵ Boehner of Ohio.

But the president also faces growing concerns from liberal Democrats⁶ about what they see as a deepening involvement in Afghanistan.

"I think there are a significant number of people in the country who have, and I don't know the exact percentages, that have questions about deepening our military involvement in Afghanistan," said Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee. 
US House of Representatives Minority Leader Rep John Boehner (Ohio) (File photo)

The Obama administration is engaged in a review of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, and worries on the left about the U.S. getting militarily bogged⁷ down will be part of the broader political debate in Washington.

Tom DeFrank, a longtime political observer with the New York Daily News and a regular guest on VOA's Issues in the News program, says a decision to send additional U.S. troops could ignite opposition from liberal Democrats in Congress.

"That will alienate⁸ a lot of the Democratic left who wanted the U.S. out of Iraq and would like to see us out of Afghanistan as well. It's a real political problem," DeFrank said.

Mr. Obama also faces the potential for liberal discontent on his top domestic priority, enacting⁹ health care reform.

The president appealed to lawmakers from both parties to work together on health care during his recent address to a joint¹⁰ session of Congress.

"The time for bickering¹¹ is over. The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action," Mr. Obama said.

Many liberal Democrats believed that Mr. Obama's election last year presented the best opportunity yet to pass health care legislation that would include universal insurance coverage¹² for all Americans and the establishment of a government insurance program to compete with private insurance companies.

But the president has run into stiff opposition from conservative Republicans, and even moderate Democrats now believe it is likely that the president will have to settle for a compromise bill that is sure to disappoint his liberal supporters.

"A much diluted¹³ bill and one that will leave many of the liberal Democrats unhappy because they thought this was their chance to get sweeping¹⁴ change," said analyst¹⁵ Norman Ornstein.

David Wasserman, an expert with the Cook Political Report in Washington, says the health care debate has put the president in a classic political bind¹⁶.

"And Obama really has a choice to make here. Does he want to fight a war on the front of liberal Democrats, or does he want to fight a war to win Republican support in the Senate and win conservative Democratic support in the Senate," Wasserman said.

In the end, many experts predict that liberal Democrats will back down in the health care debate in the hope of passing some sort of reform that will help the president and Democrats in next year's midterm congressional elections, and in the next presidential election in 2012.

John Fortier of the American Enterprise Institute spoke¹⁷ on VOA's Encounter program.

"The key votes are probably in the Senate and among conservative Democrats because those are the ones you need to just get you a majority. And there will be grumbling¹⁸ on the left if you want to get something done, but they ultimately need almost all of their party because they are going to get almost no Republicans to come along with them. So I think if they get something done it will be more appealing to the moderate Democrats than to the liberals," Fortier said.

Mr. Obama won last year's election with the help of independent and moderate voters. But recent public opinion polls show him losing support within those groups and many experts say his ability to win back centrist voters could determine whether he will emerge victorious¹⁹ in the health care debate.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

3 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

4 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

5 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。

6 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》

7 bogged   

adj.陷于泥沼的v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的过去式和过去分词 )；妨碍，阻碍

参考例句：

• The professor bogged down in the middle of his speech. 教授的演讲只说了一半便讲不下去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The tractor is bogged down in the mud. 拖拉机陷入了泥沼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 alienate   

vt.使疏远，离间；转让(财产等)

参考例句：

• His attempts to alienate the two friends failed because they had complete faith.他离间那两个朋友的企图失败了，因为他们彼此完全信任。
• We'd better not alienate ourselves from the colleagues.我们最好还是不要与同事们疏远。

9 enacting   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Generally these statutes apply only to wastes from reactors outside the enacting state. 总之，这些法令只适宜用在对付那些来自外州的核废料。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• In addition, the complexion of enacting standards for live working is described. 另外，介绍了带电作业标准的制订情况。

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 bickering   

v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁

参考例句：

• The children are always bickering about something or other. 孩子们有事没事总是在争吵。
• The two children were always bickering with each other over small matters. 这两个孩子总是为些小事斗嘴。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

13 diluted   

无力的，冲淡的

参考例句：

• The paint can be diluted with water to make a lighter shade. 这颜料可用水稀释以使色度淡一些。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields. 这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

14 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

15 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。

16 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

17 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。

18 grumbling   

adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的

参考例句：

• She's always grumbling to me about how badly she's treated at work. 她总是向我抱怨她在工作中如何受亏待。
• We didn't hear any grumbling about the food. 我们没听到过对食物的抱怨。

19 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。