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共和党大会将近 考验总统候选人

The next phase of the U.S. presidential campaign is about to begin with the Republican and Democratic conventions. Republicans will meet in Tampa, Florida, beginning on Monday, August 27, to formally nominate Mitt¹ Romney. Democrats² gather in Charlotte, North Carolina the following week to nominate President Barack Obama for a second term.

美国总统大选即将进入下一阶段，也就是共和、民主两党的党代会。共和党人8月27日（星期一）将在弗罗里达州的坦帕市召开党代会，正式提名罗姆尼为共和党总统候选人。民主党一周后也将在北卡罗来纳州的夏洛特再次提名奥巴马总统为候选人，争取连任。

Negative ads from both sides blanket the TV airwaves and the candidates are taking it personally.

来自双方的负面广告占据了各大电视时段，两位总统候选人也亲自上阵。

"The other side has decided³ that compromise is a dirty word," President Obama said. "And they spend a lot of time trying to beat me instead of moving the country forward."

奥巴马说：“另一方已经决定妥协是一个脏字。他们花大量的时间来攻击我，而不是推动这个国家进步。”

“So Mr. President, take your campaign of division and anger and hate back to Chicago and let us get about rebuilding and reuniting America,” said Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

罗姆尼则说：“总统先生，带着你充满分裂、愤怒和仇恨的竞选回到芝加哥去，让我们来重新建设和团结美国。”

Mitt Romney has excited conservatives with his choice of Wisconsin Congressman⁴ Paul Ryan as his running mate.

罗姆尼挑选威斯康辛州的众议员瑞安作为副总统候选人令保守人士非常兴奋。

But Democrats are attacking Ryan’s past plans to reform Medicare, the government's health care program for older Americans.

但是民主党人指出瑞安以前曾计划要改革医疗照顾方案。医疗照顾方案是联邦政府为老年人设计的健保项目。

“So we know hope and change has become attack and blame," Ryan said. "We’re not going to blame other people. We’re going to take responsibility.”

瑞安说：“我们知道希望和改变已经成为攻击和责怪。我们将不会责怪其他人。我们会承担责任。”

Romney has a chance to reintroduce himself at the Republican convention in Tampa, says analyst⁵ Norman Ornstein.

政治分析人士奥斯坦恩说，罗姆尼将有机会在坦帕召开的党代会上重新介绍自己。

“Romney now has an opportunity to show that he is not the imperious, mean-spirited, out-of-touch rich guy but rather a warm family person who cares about others and also somebody who is competent enough to move forward,” he said.

奥斯坦恩说：“罗姆尼现在有机会告诉大家他不是一个专断、阴险、高不可攀的富豪，而是一个注重家庭和他人的人，也是有能力继续前行的人。”

Polls show President Obama is more likeable than Romney, but politically vulnerable because of the weak economy.

民调显示奥巴马总统比罗姆尼更受人欢迎，但是由于经济疲软，他在政治上比较容易受攻击。

The president is trying to convince voters that better days are ahead.

奥巴马总统试图说服选民，更好的日子即将来临。

“I’ll wake up every single day fighting as hard as I know how for you," he said. "I will think about you and I will represent you and I will fight for you and I have kept that promise, Iowa! I have kept that promise!”

奥巴马总统说：“我每天醒来，尽我所能来为你们奋斗。我会想着你们，我会代表你们，我会为你们奋斗，我已经兑现了我对你们的承诺，艾奥华，我已经兑现了我对你们的承诺！”

Obama will have a different challenge when he speaks to Democrats at their convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, in September, says Ornstein.

政治分析人士奥斯坦恩说，奥巴马在北卡夏洛特召开的民主党党代会上应该从另外一个角度入手。

“You want to reinforce the things that you’ve done including killing⁶ Osama bin⁷ Laden⁸ that show you as the tough, resolute⁹ decision-maker,” he said.

奥斯坦恩说：“你要强调自己已经做到的成就，比如说打死本拉登，来显示你是一个强硬的决策者。”

Political conventions have changed from the days when they actually chose candidates, says Quinnipiac pollster Peter Brown.

昆尼皮亚克大学的民意调查员彼得.布朗说，如今的党代会性质已经改变了，过去人们是真的要在党代会上选出候选人。

“They are a way of presenting each party in its best light, and it’s a way of telling voters, this is who the party is, this is who the candidate is and this is what he stands for,” he said.

布朗说：“党代会是每个党派推举其候选人的最佳时机，来告诉选民他们的党派是怎样的，谁是他们的候选人，这些候选人都持有什么立场。”

After the conventions, the next major campaign test will be a series of candidate debates beginning October 3.

党代会之后，下一步便是10月3日举行的一系列候选人辩论。