特别广播英语第 175 课：The Campaign for Election 竞选活动-2

Presidential candidates act strategically. In deciding whether to pursue a course of action, they try to estimate its likely impact on the voters. 总统候选人的行为颇讲究策略。在决定是否遵循一项行动方针时，他们要尽量估计一下该方针对投票人可能具有的影响。

During the 1992 campaign, a sign on the wall of Clinton's headquarters in Little Rock read, "The economy, Stupid." 在1992年竞选大战期间，小石城克林顿竞选总部的墙上有一个牌子，上面写着"经济、蠢货"。

The slogan was the idea of James Carville, Clinton's chief strategist, and was meant as a reminder to the candidate and the staff to keep the campaign focused on the nation's slow-moving economy, which ultimately was the issue that defeated Bush. 这条标语是克林顿的首席战略詹姆斯·卡维尔的，主意，作为候选人和竞选班子全体成员的警世语，使这场竞选大战集中在国家缓慢增涨的经济上，这成为最后击败布什的策略。

As in 1980, when Jimmy Carter lost to Ronald Reagan during tough economic times, the voters were motivated largely by a desire for change. 如同在1980年的经济困难时期，吉米·卡特输给了罗纳德·里根，投票人的积极性主要来源于意图改变的愿望。

Candidates try to project a strong leadership image. 候选人尽办突出表现一种强有力的领导形象。

Whether voters accept this image, however, depends more on external factors than on a candidate's personal characteristics. 然而，投票人是否接受这一形象，比起候选人的个人特点来更要依靠外部因素。

In 1991, after the Gulf War, bush's approval rating reached 91 percent, the highest level recorded since polling began in the 1930s. 在1991年海湾战争后，布什的支持率达到91％，这是本世纪30年代开始民意测验以来的最高记录。

A year later, with the nation's economy in trouble, Bush's approval rating dropped below 40 percent. 一年后，因国民经济陷入困境，布什的支持率降低到40％以下。