［原文］
　　It should have been easy. They were battle-tested veterans with long ties to Reagan and even longer ties to the Republican party, men who understood presidential politics as well as any in the country. The backdrop of the campaign was hospitable, with lots of good news to work with: America was at peace, and the nation’s economy, a key factor in any election, was rebounding vigorously after recession.

　　Furthermore, the campaign itself was lavishly financed, with plenty of money for a top-flight staff, travel, and television commercials. And, most important, their candidate was Ronald Reagan, a president of tremendous personal popularity and dazzling communication skills. Reagan has succeed more than any president since John F. Kennedy in projecting a broad vision of America – a nation of renewed military strength, individual initiative, and smaller federal government.　

　　［參考譯文］
　　這應(yīng)該不是件難事。這都是些跟著里根多年、久經(jīng)沙場(chǎng)的老將，他們跟共和黨則有更深厚的淵源，是這個(gè)國(guó)家里最熟悉總統(tǒng)政治的人。競(jìng)選的背景也很有利，也很多好消息可供炒作。例如，美國(guó)上下一片和平，美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)這一競(jìng)選要素也在經(jīng)過(guò)一段時(shí)間的衰退之后開(kāi)始強(qiáng)勁反彈。此外，這次競(jìng)選本身得到了慷慨資助，因此有充裕的資用于組織一流的競(jìng)選班子、支付巡回演講和電視廣告的費(fèi)用。

　　而最重要的一點(diǎn)是，他們的候選人是羅納德·里根，他可是位極具個(gè)人魅力和溝通技巧的總統(tǒng)。自約翰·F·肯尼迪總統(tǒng)以來(lái)，里根是最成功地勾勒出美國(guó)藍(lán)圖的總統(tǒng)：一個(gè)軍事力量復(fù)興、富有個(gè)人進(jìn)取心、聯(lián)邦政府得以精簡(jiǎn)的國(guó)家。