Bush and Kerry Spar Over Iraq War, Economy

 

By Scott Stearns

President Bush is criticizing Democratic challenger John Kerry for what he says is his misunderstanding of the fight against terrorism. Senator Kerry's campaign says the president's unilateral approach to the war in Iraq has made fighting terrorism more difficult.
President Bush says he thought U.S. troops would find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, as that was his biggest justification¹ for toppling Saddam Hussein.
But even though none of those weapons has yet been found, Mr. Bush told labor² supporters in the state of Nevada that knowing what he knows now, he still would have ordered the invasion because Saddam Hussein may have eventually developed those weapons and given them to terrorists.
Senator Kerry has been critical of the president's handling of the war in Iraq. Mr. Bush returned to a series of rhetorical attacks against what he calls his opponent's flip-flopping on major issues, pointing out that Senator Kerry voted to authorize³ the president's use of force. "Looked like for awhile he was trying to squirm out of that vote. The other day he said that knowing what we know today, he agreed that the use of force in Iraq was necessary," he said. "I welcome that clarification. Still got 82 days left in the campaign, though."
If elected, Senator Kerry says he would do a better job of getting more of the world to agree on a plan for fighting terrorism to better share both the financial and military costs.
President Bush says he has put together what he calls a great coalition⁴ to fight terrorism and will continue working with friends and allies if he is re-elected. But he portrayed⁵ Senator Kerry's quest for greater consensus⁶ as a weakness that could threaten America's security. "Countries all around the world understand what we know, that free societies are peaceful societies. They understand the stakes. They know what is really important, but I'll assure you, I will never turn over America's national security decisions to leaders of other countries," he said.
Senator Kerry's campaign says he would have handled the threat from Iraq much differently than President Bush who Democrats⁷ say rushed into the war without support from enough allies and without the proper training of U.S. troops. The Kerry campaign says Mr. Bush had no clear plan to win the peace after the fighting and did not sufficiently⁸ examine the quality of the intelligence leading to the miscalculation about weapons of mass destruction.
Campaigning in California Thursday, the Massachusetts Senator did not directly mention his dispute with the president over Iraq. Instead, he criticized the Bush administration's handling of the economy, specifically tax cuts for companies that shift jobs overseas. "Instead of supporting an economic policy that thinks sending jobs overseas is good for America, we are going to provide incentives⁹ for companies that create and keep the jobs right here where they belong right here in the good old USA," he said.
Most public opinion polls show Senator Kerry with a slight lead over President Bush. Mr. Kerry is ahead on economic issues. Mr. Bush is still leading when it comes to fighting terrorism.
Scott Stearns, VOA News, at the White House.注释：
spar 争论, 辩论
misunderstanding 误会, 误解
unilateral 单方面, 单边的
squirm 局促不安
quest for 追求, 探索
consensus 多数人的意见
turn over 移交给……
intelligence 情报
miscalculation 误算, 估错
incentive  鼓励，奖励
leading 第一位的，领先的

1 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

7 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》

8 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

9 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法