2006年VOA标准英语-Major 2008 US Presidential Contenders to Announ

By Jim Malone
Washington
20 December 2006

The 2008 race for president has drawn¹ three official candidates and several more are expected to announce their intentions early in 2007.  VOA national correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington on the quickly expanding field of White House candidates.

 
Tom Vilsack, 30 Nov 2006
Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and Ohio Congressman² Dennis Kucinich have already announced they are running for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination³.

It is likely that New York Senator Hillary Clinton will add her name to the list when she announces her plans early in the new year.

 
Senator Hillary Clinton
"And I worry that whoever the next president is, is going to face just a myriad⁴ of very difficult challenges," she said  on NBC's Today program.  "So, I am trying to approach this with a big dose of humility⁵, number one, because it is going to be a hard job no matter who gets it."

Clinton is seen as the frontrunner or top contender in the Democratic field of candidates.  But she could get an unexpectedly strong challenge from Illinois Senator Barack Obama, who says he will decide on a presidential bid early in 2007.

 
Barack Obama
Obama recently gave a speech in the important early primary state of New Hampshire, a visit that drew media attention from around the world.

"People are very hungry for something new," he said.

Republican hopefuls have been active as well.  California Congressman Duncan Hunter has already announced he is running, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani also made a stop in New Hampshire, where he praised the style of personal campaigning that puts presidential contenders in direct contact with voters.

"It requires you to talk to people," he said.  "It requires you to meet people, talk to them, tell them your ideas.  It takes some of the spin out of politics."

Political experts say there are reasons for all this early presidential campaign activity.

"I think there is a tendency now to say, well, the early bird catches the worm, we have got to start early, and if you start early, who knows what is going to happen," said Stuart Rothenberg, who publishes an independent political newsletter in Washington.  "In addition, neither party will have a sitting vice⁶ president who is an heir-apparent.  There is not an heir-apparent in either party.  There are certainly frontrunners in both parties, but there is not quite the heir-apparent that we usually have in at least one party."

 
Sen. John McCain talks to reporters in Baghdad, 14 Dec 2006
Recent polls suggest Senator Clinton leads among Democratic Party contenders, while former Mayor Giuliani is vying⁷ for the Republican lead with Arizona Senator John McCain.

But analyst⁸ Stuart Rothenberg says the frontrunners could easily stumble on the way to the nomination.

"Well, I would say Senator McCain is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, just as Senator Clinton is for the Democratic nomination," he added. "I do not think they have the nomination sewn up.  There are lots of other candidates who are running.  There could easily be surprises, so these are going to be big fields [of candidates] in both parties and I think there is certainly a lot to talk about for the next two years."

Other Democrats⁹ expected to enter the race include former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, Delaware Senator Joseph Biden, and possibly Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, the party's 2004 presidential nominee¹⁰.

On the Republican side, Massachusetts Governor Mitt¹¹ Romney has taken steps to mount a presidential campaign.  Others considering a White House bid include Kansas Senator Sam Brownback and former congressman and House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia.

Political analyst John Fortier, of the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, says the Democrats might have an early advantage in the 2008 battle for the White House.  But Fortier also says, do not count out the Republicans.

"I think the race is pretty wide open in 2008, as to both parties, because you have taken some of the air out of the balloon to the opposition¹² to Bush," he noted¹³.  "You have Bush and Cheney not running on the ticket and you have a divided government.  I think Democrats have a very good chance, but I think Republicans, with the right candidate, certainly also do.  I think it is a pretty wide open race on both sides."

The actual presidential nominating process begins in January of 2008 with early caucus¹⁴ or primary elections in Iowa, South Carolina, New Hampshire, and Nevada.
 
 

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 myriad   

adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量

参考例句：

• They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
• I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

5 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

6 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。

7 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

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 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》

10 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。

11 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

12 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。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。