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Republican presidential contender John McCain picked up the endorsement¹ of a former rival Thursday. Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton got some potential good news in her battle with Barack Obama.

争取共和党总统候选人提名的约翰.麦凯恩星期四得到了先前一位竞争对手的公开支持。与此同时，民主党方面的竞选人希拉里.克林顿在与巴拉克.奥巴马的激烈竞争中也听到一些可能对她有利的消息。

McCain won the endorsement of former Massachusetts governor Mitt² Romney.

麦凯恩赢得了前麻萨诸塞州州长罗姆尼的支持。

During the campaign, the two were bitter rivals, clashing frequently during debates over immigration, taxes and negative campaign advertisements.

在此前的竞选过程中，他们两人曾经互不相让，在辩论中就移民问题、税收问题以及负面竞选广告等等不断展开唇枪舌战。

But at a joint³ appearance in Boston Thursday, both men did their best to put their differences behind them and unite for the good of the party.

但是两人星期四在波士顿举行了联合新闻发布会，双方都尽最大努力，摒弃前嫌，为共和党的前途考虑站到了一起。

Romney hailed McCain as uniquely qualified⁴ to lead the war on terror as president.

罗姆尼称赞麦凯恩具备独一无二殊的品质，能够作为总统领导美国打赢反恐战争。

"This is a man capable of leading our country at a dangerous hour," he said. "Senator McCain understands the war we are in, the necessity of victory and the consequences of surrender."

罗姆尼说：“这是一位能够在危难之际领导我们国家的人。麦凯恩参议员非常清楚我们所处的战争局面，他深知胜利的必要以及妥协将会带来的后果。”

McCain is hoping that most of the 280 delegates that Romney won before he pulled out of the presidential race last week will switch into his column, putting him ever closer to securing the Republican Party's presidential nomination⁵.

麦凯恩希望罗姆尼在上个星期退出这次选举之前赢得的280张代表的选票大多数都能够转到他的旗下，使他更能够稳操胜券地得到共和党总统候选人的提名。

"We know it was a hard campaign," he said. "And now we move forward together for the good of our party and the nation, and I am very honored to have governor Romney and the members of his team at my side."

麦凯恩说：“我们都知道，前一阵的选战打得很激烈，现在是我们为了党的前途，向前迈进的时候了。能得到罗姆尼州长和他手下人马的支持，我感到非常荣幸。”

Even before the Romney endorsement, McCain had an estimated 800 delegates and was getting close to the 1,191 votes needed to win the nomination.

即便在罗姆尼宣布支持麦凯恩之前，麦凯恩已经得到了全美各地大约800个共和党代表的支持，距离赢得共和党提名所需的1191票已经很接近。

McCain also hopes that the Romney endorsement will win over some conservative Republicans who continue to oppose him because of his record on taxes, campaign reform and immigration.

麦凯恩同时希望罗姆尼的支持能够帮助他赢得一些保守派共和党人的支持，这些人由于麦凯恩在税收、竞选改革以及移民问题上的立场，一直对他持有反对态度。

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee remains⁶ in the Republican race, but trails McCain badly in the delegate count.

前阿肯色州州长哈克比目前还没有退出竞选，但是在所赢得的代表人数方面，远远落在麦凯恩后面。

Meanwhile, in the Democratic race, Hillary Clinton's campaign fortunes may have taken a turn for the better Thursday with the release of new polls in the upcoming primary states of Ohio and Pennsylvania.

与此同时，在民主党方面，希拉里.克林顿的竞选运气有可能呈好转趋势。星期四公布的一项民调显示，在即将举行初选的俄亥俄和宾夕法尼亚两个州里，她都处于领先的位置。

The polls by Quinnipiac University in Connecticut found Clinton leading Obama by 21 points in Ohio and by 16 points in Pennsylvania.

康涅狄克州琴尼派克大学主办的民调显示，在俄亥俄州，希拉里以21个百分点领先于奥巴马，在宾夕法尼亚州她也以16个百分点领先于奥巴马。

Ohio holds its presidential primary March 4 along with Texas. Pennsylvania will vote on April 22.

俄亥俄州同德克萨斯州一样，将于3月4号举行党内初选。宾夕法尼亚州的党内初选将于4月22号举行。

Clinton is counting on those three states to blunt Obama's momentum⁷ in the wake of his eight straight caucus⁸ and primary victories.

在奥巴马取得8州初选与党团选举的一连串胜利之后，希拉里.克林顿指望在以上3州获胜，以挫败奥巴马的锐气。

"We go on," she said. "We are ready for the contests that are upcoming and the hundreds of delegates that will be in play on March 4. We are well organized and well positioned."

她说：“我们继续前进。我们做好了准备在即将到来的3月4日的竞争中，争取到数百名党代表的支持。我们的组织有条不紊，我们的阵势有利取胜。”

The poll numbers in Ohio and Pennsylvania could give the Clinton campaign a much-needed boost after several days of disappointing news.

在几天来不断传来令人失望的消息之后，俄亥俄州与宾夕法尼亚州的民调结果可能会给克林顿竞选阵营带来他们急需的鼓舞。

But political experts point out that Clinton had big leads in several other states during this state-by-state nomination campaign, only to see Obama come from behind to win.

不过有政治专家指出，在各州分别挑选民主党总统候选人提名期间，虽然克林顿曾在其他几个州旗开得胜，然而现在却也已经看到奥巴马有后来居上的趋势了。

Obama remains focused on Tuesday's primary in Wisconsin and on a Democratic caucus in Hawaii in hopes of increasing his modest lead in total delegates.

奥巴马继续把注意力集中在下周二的威斯康辛州的初选和夏威夷的党团选举方面，以期增加他所获党代表票的总数，现在他已经在党代表票数上占微弱优势。

Obama is also engaging the presumptive Republican presidential nominee⁹, Senator John McCain, during his campaign rallies, in hopes of building a sense of inevitability¹⁰ about his chances for the Democratic nomination.

与此同时，奥巴马还在他的竞选集会上对被视为将成为共和党总统候选人的约翰.麦凯恩参议员提出挑战，希望以此给人们造成一种既成印象，那就是他的胜出不可避免，将成为民主党的总统候选人。

"John McCain started attacking me on economic policy, which I thought was flattering," he said. "It is clear he knows who his opponent is going to be and I am looking forward to a great debate."

奥巴马说：“约翰·麦凯恩在经济政策上展开了对我的攻击，对此我深感荣幸。他显然清楚谁是他的对手，我期望跟他进行一场激烈辩论。”

Longtime political observer Tom DeFrank of the New York Daily News says Clinton is facing a must-win situation in Ohio and Texas in early March.

"She has to win somewhere," he said. "He [Obama] has now won eight in a row, and that is powerful momentum. Eight victories in a row is really compelling momentum. Now, she does have an opportunity on the 4th of March."

DeFrank is the guest on this weekend's Press Conference USA program on VOA.

Obama is favored in Tuesday's contests in Wisconsin and Hawaii.

奥巴马在威斯康辛和夏威夷两州星期二举行的竞选中预期均会胜出。