Obama, Romney Campaign in Pivotal Ohio

 Obama, Romney Campaign in Pivotal Ohio

WHITE HOUSE — Both U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican nominee¹ Mitt² Romney are campaigning in Ohio, a state that analysts³ agree is crucial in this year’s campaign.  New public opinion polls show the president taking the lead in Ohio. 

As he has so many times in the past few months, President Obama gave a campaign speech Wednesday at a university campus in Ohio. 

“You may have noticed that there is an election going on here in Ohio," said President Obama.

At Bowling⁴ Green State University, as he would later at Kent State University,  Obama encouraged students to vote.

Young voters and the middle class were key parts of the coalition⁵ that elected Obama in 2008, and he is depending on their support again this year.

In a state where as many as one in every eight jobs is related to the auto⁶ industry, the president defended his trade policy toward China.

“We have brought more trade cases against China in one term than the previous administration did in two.  And by the way, we have been winning those cases.  We stood up for auto workers against unfair trade practices," said Obama.

Romney also was in Ohio Wednesday.  He said the president is not tough enough on China when it comes to trade, and that if elected, he will press Beijing harder.

“We are going to open up more trade where we can compete fairly, but we are going to crack down on China when they cheat.  They have stolen our jobs and that has got to stop," said Romney.

After years of economic distress⁷, Ohio’s unemployment rate has fallen to 7.2 percent, about one full point below the national average.  Experts believe that could benefit Obama, although Romney credits the drop to the policies of Ohio’s Republican governor. 

Romney spoke⁸ Wednesday at rallies in the Columbus and Cleveland areas. 

After spending much of last week raising money in Texas and California, the former Massachusetts governor is concentrating this week on Ohio, with a bus tour through the state’s larger cities.

Public opinion polls indicate that he may have some work to do.

Several recent polls show that Obama is beginning to increase his lead over Romney in Ohio.  One survey (CBS / New York Times / Quinnipiac) has the president leading by 10 percentage points (53%-43%), and another (Washington Post) shows him ahead by eight (52%-44%).

Polls also indicate that Obama is broadening his lead in other swing states, including Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Some Romney campaign representatives have questioned the accuracy of the polls that show the president’s lead widening. Romney has expressed confidence that he can close the gap.

No Republican has ever won the presidency⁹ without winning a majority of Ohio’s electoral votes, and no Democrat¹⁰ has done so since 1960.

Ohio is the seventh-largest of the 50 states in population, and is almost equally divided between Democrats¹¹ and Republicans.  Like many eastern states, Ohio has a large manufacturing base, but like many Midwestern states, it also has a large agricultural economy.

Obama has visited Ohio 29 times during his presidency.  He marked the formal start of his re-election campaign with a rally at Ohio State University in April. 

The Romney campaign says the governor has visited 10 times since May 1, and seven times during the Republican primaries.

Although the election is about six weeks away, early voting and absentee voting in Ohio begin less than a week from now, before the first of the debates between the two presidential candidates.

1 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

2 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？

5 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

6 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

7 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

10 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

11 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》