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VOA慢速英语2014 AS IT IS 2014-01-28 Obama Set To Talk to the Nation

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AS IT IS 2014-01-28 Obama Set To Talk to the Nation

ello there, I’m June Simms!  And this is As It Is, from VOA Learning English. 

This year will be a busy year for politics in the United States.  President Barack Obama will present his main policy goals to the country in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night.  Political campaigns will soon follow, with voters set to elect a new Congress in November.  The results of those elections could have a major effect on the president, and on lawmakers from both major political parties. 

Today Bob Doughty1 joins as we explore some of the issues the president is likely to discuss, and the effect these issues could have on the November elections.

Here is Bob Doughty.

Obama Set To Talk to the Nation 

Tuesday night, President Obama gives his State of the Union speech to both houses of Congress.  Tens of millions of people will watch the event on television.  Political experts say the president can use the speech to help lift his public approval rating.

President Obama enjoyed a warm welcome before his State of the Union speech last year.  His re-election victory was still fresh in people’s minds.

“There is much progress to report.”

But 2013 was a difficult year for the president.  This was largely because of battles over the country’s health care reform law, known as The Affordable2 Care Act.  The administration had problems launching the health care reform program.  And troubles with the government’s health care website did little to help ease public concerns.  Approval ratings for President Obama fell to new lows. 

The latest national opinion survey found that 40 percent of those questioned approved of the job the president is doing.  Fifty-four percent did not.  Quinnipiac University carried out the study.  Tim Malloy works with Quinnipiac.  He says Mr. Obama received negative ratings on several important issues.

“The president remains3 in negative territory now on the economy, the federal budget as well as foreign policy.  Registered voters in big numbers still give the president a ‘thumbs down’ on health care.”

Ratings for the Democratic and Republican parties have not been much better.  Congressional Democrats4 saw their approval ratings drop because of the health care debate.  Political experts say the lower ratings could have a major effect on the elections in November.

Stuart Rothenberg is an independent political commentator5.

“The problem is, all these Democrats supported and in most cases voted for Obamacare and so they are stuck with this and to the extent to which the president is weakened, the voters tend to say, I am going to send a message to Barack Obama.  He is not on the ballot6 in the midterm.  The only way they can do that is to vote against Democrats.”

While the Democrats were blamed for problems with the health care law, many Americans blamed Republicans for forcing large parts of the federal government to close in October.  The government was closed for 16 days.  The shutdown shook the public’s faith in Washington’s ability to govern.

“This is not what the American people think is acceptable.  They want us to try to solve problems and be practical, even if we can’t get everything done.”

Stuart Rothenberg says Republicans lawmakers remain on the defensive7 about that.

“The Republican brand is still terrible.  People think the Republicans made a huge mistake shutting down the government and most Republican strategists will tell you they made a huge mistake.”

Obama Looks for a Political Revival8 in 2014

Political experts predict that Mr. Obama will use his State of the Union speech to call attention to economic issues in the United States.  With the economy showing signs of improvement, they say, he will likely note the need to make economic success available to all Americans.

“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.”

Mr. Obama may also talk about the issue of income inequality, and how best to narrow differences between the very rich and average Americans.  Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution calls this, the “Two Americas” issue.

“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.”

A recent study found that the earnings9 of the wealthiest one percent of the population rose 275 percent over the past 30 years.  During this period, earnings for the 60 percent of Americans in the middle class rose by just under 40 percent. 

Thomas Mann says Democrats hope that talk about the economy, especially economic fairness, will help their candidates in November.

Opposition10 Republicans say economic growth and creating jobs are also important goals for them. 

Another one of their goals is limiting the size of the federal government.  House Speaker John Boehner says slowing the growth of government social welfare programs is a Republican goal this year.

“Yet the president refuses, and Democrats refuse to discuss changes to those programs unless Republicans are willing to raise taxes.  We are not going to raise taxes.”

Ron Bonjean is a Republican strategist.  He develops and executes action plans for the Republican Party.  He says the health care law will be a main target for Republicans this year.

“It is health care at this point.  It is the incompetence11 going on within the Obama administration on how that is being handled.”

The State of the Union offers the president his best chance to set out a plan of action that includes domestic and foreign policy goals.

Political specialists say foreign policy issues could also affect the November elections.  Two such issues are how to deal with Iran’s nuclear program and the continuing terrorist threat from extremist groups around the world.

All 435 seats in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives will be at risk this year.  Most political observers believe Republicans will keep or increase their control in the House.  The real battle will be for control of the Senate.  Democrats currently hold a majority in the Senate.  But many of the 35 Senate races this year take place in states where Republicans have a good record.  

Political expert John Fortier says second term presidents often have trouble regaining12 their political influence.  This can limit their ability to get new laws passed in Congress. 

“Usually presidents see their popularity ebb13 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.”

He says political battles leading up to the November elections could change things.

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

 

That is As It Is.  I’m Bob Doughty.  Thanks for spending time with us today. 


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 doughty Jk5zg     
adj.勇猛的,坚强的
参考例句:
  • Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质:脾气倔强,性格刚强。
  • The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。
2 affordable kz6zfq     
adj.支付得起的,不太昂贵的
参考例句:
  • The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
  • There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。
3 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
4 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》
5 commentator JXOyu     
n.注释者,解说者;实况广播评论员
参考例句:
  • He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛,是个好的解说者。
  • The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。
6 ballot jujzB     
n.(不记名)投票,投票总数,投票权;vi.投票
参考例句:
  • The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
  • The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。
7 defensive buszxy     
adj.防御的;防卫的;防守的
参考例句:
  • Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题,使她警觉起来。
  • The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。
8 revival UWixU     
n.复兴,复苏,(精力、活力等的)重振
参考例句:
  • The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
  • He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。
9 earnings rrWxJ     
n.工资收人;利润,利益,所得
参考例句:
  • That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
  • Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。
10 opposition eIUxU     
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。
11 incompetence o8Uxt     
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。
12 regaining 458e5f36daee4821aec7d05bf0dd4829     
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。
13 ebb 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。

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