新闻选读：Gore says no to 2004 戈尔放弃2004年总统竞选

弗兰克．唐

新闻选读：Gore says no to 2004 戈尔放弃2004年总统竞选（弗兰克速成英语学院提供：416-838-6696）

    Former US Democratic vice president Al Gore said on Sunday that he had decided not to run for president in 2004, eliminating the possibility of another match-up between him and President George W. Bush. Making the announcement in an interview to CBS on Sunday, Gore said: "I've decided that I will not be a candidate for president in 2004...I personally have the energy and drive and ambition to make another campaign, but I don't think that it's the right thing for me to do."     (from 21st Century issued on December 19)

背景介绍：

    As early as 1988 Al Gore had ran for president but ended unsuccessfully. He has served eight years as Clinton's vice president from 1992. Though Gore often was criticized as overly controlled and cautious, he was praised for the work he did as an influential vice president. In the general election for presidency in 2000, Gore garnered over half a million popular votes more than his rival Bush. But after a bitter 36-day recount battle in Florida and a Supreme Court decision that in favor of the Republic, Gore came agonizingly close to defeating Bush.

    Gore is still widely seen as the top contender for the Democratic nomination, but a newly conducted poll by New York Times indicates that two thirds of Americans do not hope to see Gore in the general election again. Furthermore, many Democrats are concerned about whether he could beat President Bush.

     When announcing his decision, Gore does not elaborate on the reasons, only saying that a rematch with President Bush "would inevitably involve a focus on the past that would in some measure distract from the focus on the future that I think all campaigns have to be about."

    戈尔早在1988年就曾经参加过总统竞选，但以失败告终。1992年开始，戈尔在克林顿麾下担任了8年副总统，尽管经常因优柔寡断而受到公众指责，但他的政绩却有口皆碑。在2000年总统大选中, 戈尔所得的普选票比布什多出500多万张。但是，佛罗里达州36天的重新计票以及最高法庭做出的有利于共和党的裁决，使得戈尔与总统职位失之交臂。

    戈尔日下仍被视为民主党下届竞选的主要提名者，但《纽约时报》新近的民意调查显示，三分之二美国人还是希望他不要再参选。不少民主党内人士也对戈尔能否击败布什表示担忧。

    戈尔宣布自己这一决定时并没有过多的说明原因，只是表示"竞选应该着眼未来。若再次与布什较量，在某程度上，会不可避免地把竞选的焦点转向过去的恩怨，而忽略对未来的关注。"