两州初选奥巴马克林顿最后一搏

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Democratic presidential contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are making a final push for support on the eve of Tuesday\'s primaries in Indiana and North Carolina.

星期二，美国印第安纳州和北卡罗莱纳州将举行总统提名人党内初选。选举前夕，民主党的两位角逐者，奥巴马和克林顿都在进行最后一搏，为自己争取更多的支持。

Both candidates have a lot at stake in Tuesday\'s primaries.

星期二的初选对两名候选人都至关重要。

Senator Clinton hopes to keep alive her underdog hopes of winning the Democratic nomination by extending her momentum after convincing victories in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

在宾夕法尼亚和俄亥俄州的初选中取得了令人信服的胜利后，克林顿参议员希望能够扩大这种气势，反败为胜，获得民主党的提名。

Obama seeks to recapture some momentum of his own after weeks of being on the defensive over his relationship with his former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

而奥巴马几个星期以来一直忙于澄清和自己以前的牧师莱特的关系，他希望在接下来的初选中能够重新夺回从前的气势。

Clinton told a crowd in North Carolina that her political experience gives her an advantage over Obama on the issue of which candidate is best prepared to assume the presidency on day one.

克林顿议员在北卡罗莱纳州对一个集会人群说，在哪名候选人能够一上任就能胜任总统职责的问题上，她的从政经验优势胜于奥巴马。

"You know, the world is going to breathe a sigh of relief when that moving van pulls out from behind the White House and is heading back to Texas," she said. "But then, I want you to think about what the next president will be confronting."

她说：“你知道，当布什的车从白宫后面开出，向德克萨斯州行驶的时候，全世界都会松一口气。但是，我希望你们想想，下一任总统将要面对什么挑战。”

"Two wars, a war to end in Iraq, and bring our troops home and a war to win in Afghanistan and go after those who attacked our country. An economy in crisis with gas prices exploding," she continued.

“我们面对两场战争：要结束伊拉克战争，让我们的部队返回家园；还要赢得阿富汗战争，并且追捕那些袭击美国的人们。此外，要面对处于危机中的经济和飞涨的油价。”

Obama told television interviewers he remains confident that he will emerge as the Democratic Party nominee for president, once the primary and caucus voting ends on June 3.

奥巴马在电视采访中说，他依然坚信，当初选和党内预选在6月3号结束时，他将成为民主党提名的总统候选人。

Obama holds a narrow, but difficult to overcome lead in the delegate count and has tried to refocus his campaign on economic issues in recent days and away from the controversy involving Reverend Wright.

奥巴马在党内代表票数上的领先优势虽然不大，但很难被超越。最近几天中，他试图把竞选的焦点重新集中在经济问题上，远离和莱特牧师有关的争议。

Obama spoke on MSNBC television.

奥巴马在MSNBS电视节目上说：

"You know, everybody goes through their turns of getting whacked around a little bit in the press, and certainly we have had our turns lately," he said. "But what I have seen is that the American people are looking for somebody who is really going to fight for them, who can make sure they can live out their hopes and their dreams."

“你知道，每个人都可能受到媒体的猛烈攻击，最近我们也没能幸免。但是，我认为，美国人民寻找的是一个能够真正为他们而战的人，这个人要能够保证让美国人民过上他们希望和梦想的生活。”

New public-opinion polls give a mixed picture of the impact of the Wright controversy on the Obama campaign.

The USA Today Gallup Poll showed the Wright issue has helped Clinton move to a lead over Obama among Democrats nationwide by a margin of 51 to 44 percent.

But a new CBS News New York Times Poll suggested Obama was having some success in moving past the Wright controversy. Sixty percent of people surveyed in that poll approved of Obama\'s handling of the issue.

Meanwhile, the presumptive Republican nominee, Senator John McCain, is vowing that he will not make Obama\'s ties with Reverend Wright an issue in the general election campaign if Obama is the Democratic nominee.

与此同时，即将成为共和党提名人的麦凯恩参议员宣称，如果奥巴马成为民主党提名人，他将不会在大选中把奥巴马和莱特牧师的关系当作一个议题。

McCain spoke at a news conference in Arizona.

麦凯恩在亚历桑那州的一个新闻发布会上说：

"Senator Obama has said that it is a legitimate political issue in his campaign," he said. "He will respond to that, not me. Do I believe that Reverend Wright\'s comments were outrageous? Of course, so do all Americans. But it will be a discussion that Senator Obama will have with the American people."

“奥巴马参议员已经说过，这是他竞选活动中的一个合法政治议题。他将会为此事做出反应，我不会。我是否认为莱特牧师的话令人愤慨？当然是。所有美国人都这么觉得。但是，应该由奥巴马参议员来和美国人民讨论这个问题。”

McCain has the luxury of focusing on uniting his party and raising money while the Democratic race continues indefinitely.

在民主党的角逐还在无休止地进行时，麦凯恩则可以集中精力，团结共和党人，并且筹集竞选资金。

Some political experts believe that many of the prominent Democrats who remain uncommitted in the Obama-Clinton battle will rally to Obama once the primaries end in early June.

Tom DeFrank of the New York Daily News says many of the so-called congressional superdelegates believe Senator Obama would be more helpful to their own re-election prospects in the November election than Hillary Clinton.

DeFrank appeared on VOA\'s Issues in the News program.

"There is a feeling that Obama has generated such enthusiasm, and so many new voters have registered as Democrats that many members of Congress running for re-election feel like Obama probably is a safer bet at the top of the ticket than Hillary," he said.

Recent polls give Clinton a slight edge in Indiana, while Obama remains favored in North Carolina.

最近的民意调查显示，克林顿参议员在印第安纳州有微弱优势，而北卡罗莱纳州选民倾向于奥巴马。