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1、 VOA慢速英语听力：1968年总统选举In this 1968 black-and-white file photo, President Lyndon Johnson, right, confers with President-elect Richard Nixon in the White House in Washington STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION American history in VOA Special English. I”m Steve Ember. Nineteen sixty-eight was
2、a presidential election year in the United States. It was also one of the saddest and most difficult years in modern American history. The nation was divided by often violent disputes about civil rights and the war in Vietnam. President Lyndon Johnson had helped win major civil rights legislation. Y
3、et he had also greatly expanded American involvement in the war in Vietnam. By early nineteen sixty-eight, it was almost impossible for him to leave the White House without facing anti-war protesters. Johnson wanted to seek another four-year term as president. But his popularity kept dropping as the
4、 war continued. He understood that he no longer had the support of a majority of the people. In March, he announced that he would not be a candidate. PRESIDENT LYNDON JOHNSON: “I shall not seek, and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your President.“ One reason Johnson
5、decided not to seek re-election was a senator from Minnesota: Eugene McCarthy. SENATOR EUGENE MCCARTHY: “I intend to enter the Democratic primaries in four states: Wisconsin, Oregon, California, and Nebraska. The decision with reference to Massachusetts and also New Hampshire will be made within the
6、 next two or three weeks.“ McCarthy competed against Johnson in several primary elections. Primaries are held before the political parties hold their presidential nominating conventions. Thousands of college students helped the McCarthy campaign in New Hampshire, the state that traditionally holds t
7、he nation”s first primary. They told voters that their candidate would try to end the war. SENATOR EUGENE MCCARTHY: “My decision to challenge the President”s position and the administration”s position has been strengthened by recent announcements out of the administration. The evident intention to e
8、scalate and to intensify the war in Vietnam, and on the other hand, the absence of any positive indication or suggestion for a compromise or for a negotiated political settlement.“ Johnson won the New Hampshire primary, but McCarthy received almost forty-two percent of the vote. After McCarthy”s suc
9、cess, Senator Robert Kennedy of New York decided to enter the campaign. He was a brother of President John Kennedy, who had been murdered in nineteen sixty-three. Robert Kennedy had served in his brother”s administration as attorney general, the nation”s highest law enforcement officer. APThe Democr
10、atic presidential hopeful, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, attracted crowds of young blacks during a tour down Detroit”s Twelfth Street, May 15, 1968 Many people were pleased when Robert Kennedy announced his decision. They liked his message. He said: “I run to seek new policies - policies to end the bloods
11、hed in Vietnam and in our cities, policies to close the gaps that now exist between black and white, between rich and poor, between young and old, in this country and around the rest of the world.“ (MUSIC)On April fourth, nineteen sixty-eight, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior was shot t
12、o death in Memphis, Tennessee. Robert Kennedy informed a largely black audience in Indianapolis, Indiana, of King”s death and appealed for calm. ROBERT KENNEDY: “What we need in the United States is not division. What we need in the United States is not hatred. What we need in the United States is n
13、ot violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom. And compassion toward one another. And a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.“ Crowd applause (MUSIC)No words, however, could calm the anger in many black communities.
14、 Martin Luther King had peacefully led the civil rights movement. His assassination led to violence in more than one hundred cities across America. Hundreds of people were killed or injured. National Guard troops were used to help police end the riots. After the riots, another candidate decided to j
15、oin the campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. The new candidate was Vice President Hubert Humphrey. (MUSIC)The primary season continued. Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy tried to show voters how different they were. Many voters, however, saw little difference between their positions
16、 on major issues. Both men opposed the war in Vietnam. Both supported social reforms and civil rights. Kennedy defeated McCarthy in the primaries in Indiana and Nebraska. McCarthy defeated Kennedy in Oregon. The next big primary was in California. Kennedy said he would withdraw from the campaign if he did not win
