民主党竞选人在关键两州展开冲刺

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In the U.S. presidential race, both Democratic contenders have stressed party unity before two primary contests that could prove decisive in deciding which of the two will face the presumed Republican nominee, Arizona Senator John McCain, in the November election. Democratic hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both appeared on U.S. television two days before primary elections in the states of Indiana and North Carolina.

在美国民主党在两个州决定谁出线成为总统提名人的关键党内初选之前，两位总统候选提名的角逐者都强调党内团结。民主党总统提名人将在今年11月与共和党的总统候选人、亚利桑那州参议员麦凯恩对决。就在印地安纳州和北卡罗莱纳州举行党内初选前两天，民主党的两位角逐者克林顿和奥巴马双双出现在美国电视上。

For months, Senators Clinton and Obama have waged one of the longest and hardest-fought primary battles in modern American presidential history.

几个月来，克林顿参议员和奥巴马参议员进行了一场美国现代总统竞选史上最漫长、最艰苦的党内初选。

Rhetoric between the two contenders has often been sharp, with Clinton at one point questioning whether Obama has demonstrated the credentials necessary to be commander-in-chief, while Obama has blasted the free-trade policies adopted by Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton.

两位角逐者经常尖锐指责对方。克林顿有一次质疑奥巴马是否有能力成为三军统帅，而奥巴马则猛烈抨击克林顿参议员的丈夫、前总统克林顿所推行的自由贸易政策。

Some Democrats have openly wondered whether the intense intra-party fighting will weaken the eventual nominee and dim the party's chances of capturing the White House.

有些民主党人已经公开怀疑，这样激烈的党内斗争会削弱最终获得提名者的力量，使民主党入主白宫的机会降低。

Sunday, the two presidential hopefuls appeared to tone down the heavy criticism and focus on party unity instead. Clinton spoke on ABC's This Week television program.

星期天，这两位总统候选人角逐者都压低批评的调门，转而强调党内团结。克林顿在美国广播公司的电视节目“本星期”上说：

"Both Senator Obama and I have made it very clear that we will have a unified Democratic Party going into the fall elections," said Hillary Clinton. "I have said that I would work my heart out for him [if Obama is the nominee]. He has said he would do the same for me [if I am the nominee]."

“奥巴马参议员和我都非常明确地表示，我们将以一个团结的民主党进入秋天的大选。我说过，如果奥巴马获得提名，我将全力以赴为他助选。他也说过，如果我获得提名他也会同样尽力地为我助选。”

Obama struck a similar chord on NBC's Meet the Press program.

奥巴马在全国广播公司的“面对新闻界”节目上也发出同样的论调。

"I want a Democrat to win in November," said Barack Obama. "So even if Senator Clinton were the nominee instead of me, I would still be campaigning for Democrats."

奥巴马参议员说：“我希望民主党人能够赢得11月的大选。所以，即使不是我，而是克林顿参议员获得提名，我也仍然会为民主党助选。”

Obama leads Clinton in pledged delegates won from primary contests as well as the popular vote of all who have cast ballots in the nominating elections so far. Many political analysts have suggested it would be virtually impossible for Clinton to overtake Obama in pledged delegates in the remaining contests.

到目前为止，不论在党代表的票数上，还是在一般选民的票数上，奥巴马参议员都领先克林顿参议员。许多政治分析家暗示，克林顿基本上不可能在剩余的初选中，在党代表票数上超越奥巴马。

Yet Clinton has won the last three contests held in large, populous states - two of which, Ohio and Pennsylvania, are considered must-win states for any Democrat to capture the White House in November. In addition, Obama has had to endure firestorms of criticism stemming from recent comments he made that were perceived as demeaning to working-class voters, as well as incendiary remarks by his former pastor.

但是克林顿却赢得了最后结束的三个人口大州的初选。这三个州当中的俄亥俄州和宾夕法尼亚州又被认为是民主党若要在11月入主白宫就必须赢得的州。除此以外，奥巴马还必须面对一连串批评的猛烈炮火。这些批评源自于他最近所做被认为是贬低蓝领阶层选民的言论，以及他过去的教会牧师的煽动性言论。

The controversies appear to have eroded support for Obama in national polls. What remains to be seen is whether they will sway so-called super-delegates, Democratic Party elders who are not bound by primary election results and who also have a roll to play in deciding the eventual nominee.

在全国民意测验上，这两项争议似乎削弱了对奥巴马的支持度。现在要观察的是，这种民意会不会左右所谓的超级党代表。这些民主党的超级党代表不受初选结果的约束，而且在最终决定提名人的过程中扮演一定角色。

To date, there has been no mass exodus of super-delegate support away from Obama.

而到目前为止，还没有出现有大批超级党代表放弃支持奥巴马的现象。

Asked whether super-delegates should feel empowered to overturn the will of the voters expressed through pledged delegates, Clinton suggested the nomination battle is more than a numbers game.

"There are a number of factors that people look at," she said. "We have delegates selected by millions of people in primaries and delegates selected by a few thousand people in caucuses. When the process finishes in early June, people can look at all the various factors and decide who would be the strongest candidate."

Obama downplayed any suggestion that the recent controversies surrounding his campaign would torpedo his candidacy.

奥巴马尽量淡化任何有关围绕他的竞选争议可能会危害他的候选人资格的说法。

"I think the super-delegates are going to take a look, not at momentary snapshot polls [showing reduced support for Obama], but who has run the kind of campaign that can bring about change in America and can actually govern after the election," he said.

Most political observers say Obama remains favored to win Tuesday's primary in North Carolina, although by perhaps a smaller margin than had been anticipated just weeks ago. Recent polls in Indiana give a slight edge to Clinton.

多数政治分析家表示，在北卡罗莱纳州的党内初选上，奥巴马取胜的优势虽然可能会比几个星期前的预测有所减少，但他还是会赢得北卡罗莱纳州的初选。此外，最近的民意调查还发现，克林顿参议员在印地安纳州有微弱优势。