VOA标准英语2014--Obama Looks for Political Comeback

 

Obama Looks for Political Comeback

WASHINGTON — 2014 will be a busy political year in the United States. President Barack Obama will outline his policy priorities when he delivers his State of the Union address on January 28. In November, voters will head to the polls to elect a new Congress, an outcome with potentially enormous political stakes for the president, as well as for lawmakers from both major political parties.

During last year's State of the Union address, Obama enjoyed a warm reception, fresh off his 2012 re-election victory.

“There is much progress to report,” said the president.

But 2013 proved to be a difficult political year for the president, primarily because of the rocky launch of his health care law.

Economic focus

Obama hopes to shift the focus this year to narrowing the income gap between the very rich and the middle class.

“In other words, we have got to make sure that this recovery leaves nobody behind and we have got a lot of work to do on that front,” he said.

Republicans are expected to continue to hammer away at the president’s health care law this year, said Republican strategist Ron Bonjean. “It is health care at this point. It is the incompetence¹ going on within the Obama administration on how that is being handled.”

Slowing the growth of social welfare programs also is a Republican priority, according to House Speaker John Boehner.

“The president refuses, and Democrats², refuse to discuss changes to those programs unless Republicans are willing to raise taxes. We are not going to raise taxes,” said Boehner.

Expect Obama to highlight some encouraging signs in the U.S. economy and the issue of income disparity, said Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution.

“How is the economy doing, and that is both jobs and growth and wages. But behind that is economic inequality and the ‘Two Americas’ issue,” said Mann.

Political maneuvering³

Second-term presidents often have trouble regaining⁴ their political clout⁵, said analyst⁶ John Fortier. “Usually presidents see their popularity ebb⁷ away a bit. They are often facing a Congress of the other party or at least part of the Congress, and so the president does not have the ability to work his agenda through the Congress as he did at the beginning of his first term.”

Also, Fortier added that political battles leading up to the November congressional elections are likely to dominate this year.

“The long term trend in midterm elections is that they go against the president. I think the big question for Republicans is 'can they get enough seats to win the Senate?'” said Fortier.

 

All 435 seats in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives will be at stake this year, along with one-third of the Democratically-controlled Senate and 36 state governorships.

1 incompetence   

n.不胜任，不称职

参考例句：

• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
• She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得，本是老板无能，但她却成了替罪羊。

2 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》

3 maneuvering   

v.移动，用策略( maneuver的现在分词 )；操纵

参考例句：

• This Manstein did, with some brilliant maneuvering under the worse winter conditions. 曼施坦因在最恶劣的严冬条件下，出色地施展了灵活机动的战术，终于完成了任务。 来自辞典例句
• In short, large goals required farsighted policies, not tactical maneuvering. 一句话，大的目标需要有高瞻远瞩的政策，玩弄策略是不行的。 来自辞典例句

4 regaining   

复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• She was regaining consciousness now, but the fear was coming with her. 现在她正在恢发她的知觉，但是恐怖也就伴随着来了。
• She said briefly, regaining her will with a click. 她干脆地答道，又马上重新振作起精神来。

5 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

6 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。

7 ebb   

vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态

参考例句：

• The flood and ebb tides alternates with each other.涨潮和落潮交替更迭。
• They swam till the tide began to ebb.他们一直游到开始退潮。