Life After Jesse Helms

David Swan

When Americans go to the 1)polls late next year to elect a new Congress, a familiar and 2)controversial name will be off the 3)ballot. Republican Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina will step down after a career that will have 4)spanned three decades.

"I would be 88 if I ran again in 2002 and was elected and lived to finish a sixth term," said Senator Helms. "And this, my family and I have decided 5)unanimously that I should not do and ladies and gentlemen, I shall not."

With that, the conservative icon announced his retirement and touched off a heated scramble among a pack of would-be 6)successors. Much of the attention is focused on Republican Elizabeth Dole, a former secretary of Labor and Transportation and a native of North Carolina. Her husband, retired senator Bob Dole, told an interviewer he is "almost ready" to say she will run for the Senate."I think it's been 7)indicated she's going to change her registration in a couple of days, a few days, whatever, which would indicate she's seriously looking at it. She'll change her voter registration," he said.

Mrs. Dole has now done just that. She moved her registration from her husband's hometown in Kansas to her own hometown in North Carolina, in a first step toward a possible campaign. But if she runs she may face a crowd of 8)competitors. A former mayor of the state's largest city, Richard Vinroot, is already seeking the nomination. Congressman Richard Burr is another 9)potential Republican candidate.

Mrs. Dole's rivals are likely to emphasize that while she grew up in North Carolina, she has not lived there in years. Her 2000 presidential bid never caught fire and ended even before any primary votes were cast. Still, many Republicans in North Carolina and Washington feel she is the party's best hope for 10)retaining the seat. University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato agrees. "Only if Mrs. Dole is the candidate will the Republicans have the upper hand," he said. "Otherwise that seat will be a complete toss-up. And in fact the Democrats will be favored if the Republicans renominate defeated Senator Lauch Faircloth."

Mr. Faircloth, who served one term in the Senate and may be even more 11)conservative than Mr. Helms, says he may run again. On the Democratic side, North Carolina's Secretary of State, Elaine Marshall, is so far the only person in the race, though others may jump in.

Mr. Helms' 12)departure adds a new 13)dimension to what was already 14)shaping up as a 15)bruising election-year fight for control of the Senate. Democrats hope to add to their one-seat majority, while Republicans promise an all-out effort to 16)retake power.

Political analyst Stuart Rothenberg says Mr. Helms' retirement might actually help the Republicans' prospects because his age and health problems would have made campaigning difficult. But at least at this early stage, Mr. Rothenberg says the 17)odds tend to favor the Democrats. "If I had to pick a number I'd think there's probably going to be very little change in the Senate and since the Democrats control the Senate right now they have a slight edge for controlling in the next Congress," he said.

No matter who wins Mr. Helms' seat, his conservative voice will be absent, especially on international affairs. Mr. Helms was perhaps the most influential person in Congress on foreign policy during the years he chaired the Foreign Relations Committee. But he lost that post when Democrats gained their majority. And even if Republicans regain control of the Senate, the next Foreign Relations chairman would almost certainly be more 18)moderate than Jesse Helms.

(1)      poll[ pEJl ]n.选举之投票, 民意测验v.投票, 获得选票

(2)      controversial[kRntrE5v:F(E)l]adj.争论的, 争议的

(3)      ballot[5bAlEt]n.选举票, 投票, 票数vi.投票

(4)      span[spAn]n.跨度, 跨距, 范围v.横越

(5)      unanimously全体一致地,无异议地

(6)      successor[sEk5sesE(r)]n.继承者, 接任者, 后续的事物

(7)      indicate[5IndIkeIt]vt.指出, 显示, 象征, 预示

(8)      competitor[kEm5petItE(r)]n.竞争者

(9)      potential[pE5tenF(E)l]adj.潜在的, 可能的n.潜能, 潜力, 电压

(10)      retain[rI5teIn]vt.保持, 保留

(11)      conservative[kEn5s:vEtIv]adj.保守的, 守旧的n.保守派

(12)      departure[dI5pB:tFE(r)]n.启程, 出发, 离开

(13)      dimension[dI5menF(E)n]n.尺寸, 尺度, 维(数)

(14)      shape up v.成形, 形成, 顺利发展

(15)      bruise[bru:z]n.瘀伤, 擦伤v.打伤, 撞伤

(16)      retake[ri:5teIk]vt.再取, 取回, 重摄n.取回

(17)      odds[Rdz]n.可能的机会, 成败的可能性,几率, 差别

(18)      moderate[5mRdErEt]adj.中等的, 适度的, 适中的v.缓和