VOA常速英语听力2012年08月合辑PatriotismHighIdealsMotivateMan.doc

TAMPA, Florida — Delegates at U.S. party conventions e from all 50 states and several

territories with one simple job - to nominate the candidate they hope will win the

presidency in November.

Ruth Hinebaugh Umbel, a delegate from Maryland at the Republican National Convention,

supports nominee Mitt Romney. She has been politically active for more than five

decades, but this is her first time as a delegate.

VOA spoke Hinebaugh Umbel in her home state Maryland before the convention, as she

was setting up the party headquarters in her home area of Garrett County, "I really

care about my country. I care about people. I don't think that you can elect a president

She says the convention is a chance to meet other members of the Republican Party.

The delegates are chosen to represent their state, and it's here where they are voting

for their presidential nominee.

Not everyone in the Republican Party wanted Romney to win the nomination.

James Lightweis, a teacher from Virginia and a recent college graduate, supports Ron

Paul. Lightweis is also a first time delegate who raised money on the Internet to

pay for his trip.

Days before the convention opened, Lightweis and fellow Virginia delegate Matthew

Hurtt attended a pro-Paul rally in Florida.

Most young voters supported President Barack Obama, a Democrat, four years ago, but

Delegates are party activists, says professor of politics Jennifer Lawless, of

American University in Washington.

“They're the people who are encouraging other people to get out and vote, and they're

the ones that have really organized within their own states," she said.

She says it's vital for delegates to be happy and enthusiastic in order to turn out

the votes for their candidate on election day.