久久999精品,亚洲综合色吧,4虎成人

Scandals and mistakes influence US political campaigns(視頻)

[ 2012-08-31 13:21]

來源：中國日報網

字號

[大]

[中]

[小]

免費訂閱30天China Daily雙語新聞手機報：移動用戶編輯短信CD至106580009009

Get Flash Player

WASHINGTON — A hurricane that has slammed into the United States has taken attention away from the race for president - as both major political parties select their nominees over the next 10 days. But a recent storm of a different kind serves as a reminder that mistakes and scandals have often had an impact on America’s political campaigns.

Just as Republicans were preparing to introduce Mitt Romney to the nation, a little known US Senate candidate sparked a controversy.

Congressman Todd Akin was asked if abortion should be allowed for a victim of rape.

“If it is a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” Akin said.

Democrats like President Barack Obama were quick to pounce. “The views expressed were offensive; rape is rape,” Obama said.

Akin apologized, but the damage was done as the media spotlight shifted for Romney.

“The timing could not be worse. The last thing Mitt Romney wants to focus on is abortion and social issues,” said Allan J. Lichtman, a political historian at American University.

The Sea of Galilee, where the Bible says Jesus walked on water, was the location for yet another embarrassing event.

During an official trip to Israel, Republican Congressman Kevin Yoder decided to go skinny dipping. “It’s obviously a mistake and something I regret,” Yoder said.

Some mistakes cost candidates their careers.

Take Gary Hart. He was the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in the 1988 election, but was suspected of marital infidelities.

He dared reporters to follow him and they discovered evidence that forced him out of the race, including this now-famous picture.

“Incredibly, having a beautiful blonde sitting on his lap aboard a ship called 'Monkey Business.' How much worse can you get in terms of self-destructing?,” Lichtman said.

Other politicians have survived scandal.

Former Washington Mayor Marion Barry has been a politician for 40 years.

He was active in the civil rights movement with Dr. Martin Luther King.

In 1990, however, he was captured on an FBI surveillance camera smoking crack cocaine and served six months in prison.

Despite that setback, he was reelected mayor for a fourth term and at age 76 is now a city councilman.

“You sit and you look back and say why did I do this? What was going on in my head? You can’t do anything about that. That is done. What you can do is move forward,” Barry said.

The greatest recent example of a politician surviving scandal is former president Bill Clinton.

Despite an affair with a White House intern, he remains a popular figure.

“And now he is going to be, you know, a featured speaker at the Democratic convention and they consider him a big plus,” Lichtman said.

It's anyone's guess when the next political scandal will erupt - or whether it will end in personal disgrace or political resurrection.

frontrunner：領先的候選人，領跑者

Officials say New Orleans is better protected(視頻)

Coney Island Amusement Park still up and spinning(視頻)

Abortion debate takes center stage in US election campaign

（來源：VOA 編輯：Julie）

中國日報網英語點津版權說明：凡注明來源為“中國日報網英語點津：XXX（署名）”的原創作品，除與中國日報網簽署英語點津內容授權協議的網站外，其他任何網站或單位未經允許不得非法盜鏈、轉載和使用，違者必究。如需使用，請與010-84883631聯系；凡本網注明“來源：XXX（非英語點津）”的作品，均轉載自其它媒體，目的在于傳播更多信息，其他媒體如需轉載，請與稿件來源方聯系，如產生任何問題與本網無關；本網所發布的歌曲、電影片段，版權歸原作者所有，僅供學習與研究，如果侵權，請提供版權證明，以便盡快刪除。