美国选举两党争斗 中国成替罪羊

He calls it an American journey; Time magazine reporter Joe Klein traveled the US for 24 days in the run-up to the American midterm election to gauge the key concerns of voters. One issue raised repeatedly, the growing economic rivalry between the US and China.

"The interesting thing is that I didn't bring China up, they did. It was one of the first things that they brought up. It was tremendous concern and anguish."

This campaign season, politicians are taking notice."

We've lost 91,000 jobs to China through unfair trade deals like NAFTA, the kind of deals Gibbs wants more of 91,000 jobs. As they say in China, 'Xiexie Mr. Gibbs.' Free trading, job killing Bob Gibbs.

Now, we knew the economy is gonna be central in this election. I'm so surprised to see free trade, trade isn’t usually something that, you know, in American politics is right at the top of the list.

Together, Wall Street and big government over the last 30 years, has given us this free trade policy that has caused an awful lot of manufacturing jobs to go overseas. And people are beginning to wonder, maybe we should have paid $50 more for a DVD player.

So who is benefiting from, who is really benefiting from free trade and starting to be, what the conversation is?

Right.

OK, let's have a look at the next one.

"As part of the Obama-Pelosi team, Ray Hall voted for a bill that led to billions in tax breaks for foreign companies creating Chinese jobs. With skyrocketing unemployment, only a politician who has been in Washington 34 years would vote to help foreign companies create Chinese jobs, making windmills."

Again, jobs, jobs, jobs. Is this having an impact? Is it resonating with voters?

I think it's, it's resonating with voters.

China is the only one we see here, but outsourcing isn't limited to…

Oh, yeah, but China has become an easy code word for all those other places. What's interesting, how much especially given how big an issue immigration is, you don't see very much about Mexico this year. Everything is about China, because people know China is growing very rapidly and it's a major economic challenge to us.

I think we have got one more.

"But while Harry Reid is fighting for jobs, Sharron Angle supports tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, outsourcing to China and India."

What's striking about this? Is, is this an issue that both sides are using? I mean, usually we’ve sort of seen one side lined up against the other. The ads we just watched are from both sides of the party.

That's right. And that is because you have both parties in the same boat of having supported free trade, which makes both parties vulnerable by people who oppose it.

As politicians battle it out, Klein says China could resonate among voters way past the election day.

China is a convenient symbol, for a lot of things that are going wrong, for a lot of, for income that isn't there, for housing values that are diminishing.

When you wrap it all up, did you feel equally as worried and anxious and dismayed as a lot of the voters you talked to?

Right, I've been a congenital optimist and a wild-eye American patriot. But I'm gonna say I'm really worried at this point. It’s a feeling that we're stuck in a ditch, as the president says, is very much out there. There is an awful lot of despair and there's a particular despair about the notion of whether our kids are gonna live as well as we have.

An American journey, a worried electorate, as voters head to the polls this election day, China's growing economic might and its effect on America's future is front and center in the national debate.

Maggie Lake, cnn, New York.