Obama, Romney face off in first presidential debate

Obama, Romney face off in first presidential debate

 DENVER, the United States, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt¹ Romney on Wednesday began their first presidential debate at Denver University in Denver, Colorado, with the debate focusing on economy and domestic issues.

The debate, hosted by veteran PBS journalist Jim Lehrer, started off with a question to Obama on how he would create jobs. Obama answered it for two minutes, then Romney took his turn.

The debate is to run for 90 minutes.

Economy is the most important topic, as it takes up half of the time.

Prior to the debate, both campaigns had said it would give the candidates an opportunity to speak directly to voters without the filter of the media.

The debate has higher stakes for Romney, as he is trailing the president in polls. Ben Ginsberg, a top Romney campaign aide, said Wednesday morning at a Denver briefing that the former Massachusetts governor will try to showcase his contrast with Obama in their visions for America for the next four years.

There is some unfavorable buzz against the Obama campaign heading into the debate. Vice² President Joe Biden, a top Obama surrogate, said Tuesday that the middle class had been "buried" during the past four years, a statement that Republicans immediately seized upon as an unwitting indictment³ of the Obama presidency⁴.

A 2007 videotape of then-Senator Obama, which showed him making comments perceived as "racially charged," also surfaced Tuesday night, rocketing through conservative media outlets⁵.

However, Obama is still going into the debate with a clear advantage in polls, and about two-thirds of the voters believe Obama will win the debate.

But Obama's lead in the presidential race is being challenged, as most recent polls show Romney is closing the gap somewhat.

1 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。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

4 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。

5 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》