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THIS IS AMERICA - Presidential Campaign Update

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THIS IS AMERICA - Presidential Campaign Update
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Monday, March 22, 2004

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English. I'm Phoebe Zimmermann.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. This week -- a progress report on the race for the presidency1.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

Many Americans can remember when presidential campaigns lasted two or three months. The campaign this year will be one of the longest in American history.

Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts already has gained enough delegates to secure the nomination2 of the Democratic Party. Elections at the state level decide how many delegates will support a candidate at the party nominating convention. A candidate needed two-thousand-one-hundred-sixty-two delegates to secure the nomination.

Democrats3 began to vote in January for a candidate to compete against President George W. Bush. The biggest day of voting was on March second. It was called Super Tuesday. Citizens voted in ten states. Senator Kerry won nine of them. Senator John Edwards of North Carolina won the tenth. But he left the race after that.

VOICE TWO:

So Democrats have chosen their candidate early. This did not happen by chance. Some states held their nominating elections earlier than before. Not everyone thinks this was such a good idea. They say voters may lose interest in the campaign. Election Day is not until November second.

Democrats will meet in Boston, Massachusetts, in July to nominate John Kerry. Republicans will hold their nominating convention in New York City in August. President Bush ran unopposed for delegates. The Constitution permits presidents to serve two four-year terms.

Early March was important for President Bush as well as for Senator Kerry. The Bush re-election campaign began television messages in seventeen states. And the president made some campaign trips to seek votes and raise money.

(MUSIC)

 
John Kerry speaks against the Vietnam War on Capitol Hill
VOICE ONE:

John Kerry has served almost twenty years as a United States senator from Massachusetts. As a young man, he fought in the Vietnam War. He was honored for bravery. When he came home, however, he protested that war. Yet a lot of people thought the Democratic nominee4 this year would not be John Kerry, but Howard Dean. As of October there were ten candidates. They took part in debates and campaigned around the country.

Howard Dean, a medical doctor, was popular as governor of the small northeastern state of Vermont. He resigned in two-thousand-two to begin his campaign to become America's forty-fourth president.

VOICE TWO:

Some Democrats liked Doctor Dean because he opposed the war in Iraq. They liked the energetic way he expressed anger at the Bush administration. His supporters noted5 that other major Democratic candidates had voted in Congress for the United States to invade Iraq. Senator Kerry supported the American-led action when Congress considered it. He says he voted for war because the administration had warned that weapons of mass destruction threatened America. He criticizes the war, now that searchers have not found any such weapons.

VOICE ONE:

Political observers also praised Howard Dean for the way he raised money for his campaign. He received millions of dollars in small gifts through the Internet. Some experts thought he had a good chance to defeat the president. But people in the state of Iowa thought differently. The Iowa caucuses6 took place on January nineteenth. Local citizens held meetings to choose delegates who would support the candidates. John Kerry received thirty-eight percent of the delegates. John Edwards finished second. And Howard Dean finished third, with eighteen percent.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

 
Howard Dean
What happened? Commentators7 said many people in Iowa thought Howard Dean sounded too angry. They also thought some of his television messages were too critical of his opponents. And then there was the "Dean Scream." The night he lost the Iowa caucuses, Howard Dean made a short statement to his supporters. Many were young people who had worked hard for him. Clearly he wanted to say something to give them energy to campaign in the other states. Howard Dean shouted over the noise. He waved his arms around and ended his speech with a yell.

Television showed this moment hundreds of times in the days to follow. The Dean campaign protested that this was unfair. But the media were not alone. Many Americans said Howard Dean did not appear presidential.

VOICE ONE:

The next nominating election was the primary in New Hampshire. Again, John Kerry won. He received thirty-eight percent of the vote. But this time Howard Dean finished second, with twenty-six percent. Wesley Clark was third, with John Edwards close behind. Mister Clark is a retired8 Army general and former NATO commander.

Then came voting in seven states on February third. Senator Edwards won South Carolina, which is next to his home state. General Clark won Oklahoma. That proved to be the only state he won. Senator Kerry won the other five states.

VOICE TWO:

Some campaigns did not last long. Former Senator Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois withdrew just before the Iowa caucuses in January. Representative Richard Gephardt of Missouri quit afterward9. Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut stayed in the race until early February. So did Wesley Clark.

On February eighteenth, Howard Dean also left the race. His campaign collected a lot of money. But campaign officials say they did not spend it well. As a result, there was not much left to spend this year. John Edwards left the campaign after he won only South Carolina on March second.

Senator Bob Graham of Florida was also in the race for a time. And there were two other candidates: the Reverend Al Sharpton of New York and Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Senator Kerry must still choose someone for vice10 president. Many people would like him to choose John Edwards of North Carolina. They say he is the best speaker of all the candidates. He was a trial lawyer before he ran for the Senate. He is in his first term as a senator.

Some people say John Edwards would bring balance to the Democrats in the election. Senator Kerry is from a rich family in New England, in the northeastern part of the United States. Senator Edwards, though now wealthy, is from a family in the South that did not have much money. Many people call John Kerry a liberal. John Edwards is known more as a moderate.

VOICE TWO:

 
Dick Cheney
President Bush says he wants Dick Cheney to remain his vice president. Public opinion research shows that the vice president has lost popularity in recent months.

One issue involves the company that Mister Cheney once led, Halliburton. Halliburton provides services for oil fields. Currently it is also serving food to American troops and doing other work related to the Iraq war.

There has been criticism about overcharging and a lack of competition for projects. Halliburton defends its pricing and the way it has received work. Still, some people say the company in Texas has too much influence in Washington.

VOICE ONE:

There are different issues in this election year. Iraq. Terrorism. Taxes. Education. Health care. But the economy plays a big part. The economy is better since the last recession. But the recovery has not created many new jobs yet. Another issue is the loss of information technology jobs to India and other countries.

John Kerry leads President Bush in some public opinion studies. The president is just beginning his own campaign. Estimates of the amount of money that his supporters have already given are as high as two-hundred-million dollars. That is a lot more than the Kerry campaign has received.

VOICE TWO:

The two candidates have already begun to attack each other through paid announcements on television and radio. At some point President Bush and Senator Kerry will probably debate each other. And there will be lots of travel. Some states are considered easy for one or the other candidate to win. But other states could go either way. These are called battleground states.

One thing is sure. Americans have eight months until Election Day to hear all about it.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson. Our producer was Caty Weaver11. I'm Phoebe Zimmermann.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA, in Special English on the Voice of America.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 presidency J1HzD     
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。
2 nomination BHMxw     
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。
3 democrats 655beefefdcaf76097d489a3ff245f76     
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》
4 nominee FHLxv     
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。
5 noted 5n4zXc     
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。
6 caucuses d49ca95184fa2aef8e2ee3b613a6f7dd     
n.(政党决定政策或推举竞选人的)核心成员( caucus的名词复数 );决策干部;决策委员会;秘密会议
参考例句:
  • Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网
7 commentators 14bfe5fe312768eb5df7698676f7837c     
n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 );时事评论员;注释者;实况广播员
参考例句:
  • Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语,真叫人腻烦。
  • Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话,令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
9 afterward fK6y3     
adv.后来;以后
参考例句:
  • Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏,然后吃饭。
  • Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来,这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。
10 vice NU0zQ     
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。
11 weaver LgWwd     
n.织布工;编织者
参考例句:
  • She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
  • The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

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