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白人妇女独立选民一票难求

In U.S. Presidential politics, President Barack Obama and his challenger Mitt¹ Romney are making a final push for votes in battleground states where key groups, like female voters, could decide the outcome² of the November election.

在美国总统大选中，奥巴马总统和他的竞争对手罗姆尼正在那些战场州争取最后的选票，在那些州里面妇女选民等关键群体可以决定11月大选的结果。北卡罗来纳州有一位选民被推到了政治聚光灯下，成为民主共和两党都要争取的对象。

McNamara owns a small furniture company in High Point, North Carolina. She is one of only a few manufacturers left in the city once called the "furniture capital of the world." McNamara promotes the "Made in America" cause.

梅拉妮·麦克纳马拉是北卡罗莱纳州高点市这家小型家具公司的业主，高点市曾经被称作“世界家具之都”，可是如今麦克纳马拉的公司却是这里仅剩的几家家具厂之一。麦克纳马拉以推动“美国制造”为己任。

"It is important for my city, it's important for my state and it's important for my country to still offer manufacturing jobs," McNamara said.

“继续在制造业中创造工作机会，对我的城市很重要，对我的州很重要，对我的国家很重要。”

Her business success has catapulted her into the spotlight³ of presidential politics. She represents a demographic group - white female independent voters - that presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney each need to win the election.

她的生意很成功，把她推到了总统大选的聚光灯下。她代表了一个群体--白人妇女独立选民，奥巴马总统和罗姆尼都必须赢得她们的支持才能获胜。

"Women are smart enough to see what is going on in this economy and they are not just one-issue voters," McNamara said.

“妇女有足够的智慧来看懂经济，她们并不仅仅是关心单一的议题。”

President Obama is trying to hold onto his support among white women. A recent (Washington Post / ABC News ) opinion poll⁴ suggests the president is trailing Mitt Romney in support among whites and among independent voters. Obama won independent voters in 2008.

奥巴马总统努力试图保住他在白人妇女中的支持者。最近的民意调查显示，奥巴马总统在白人和独立选民中的支持率落后于罗姆尼。而奥巴马在2008年大选中得到了独立选民的支持。

McNamara voted for Obama in 2008, but now supports Mitt Romney. She says the economy is her number one issue.

麦克纳马拉在2008年投了奥巴马的票，不过现在是罗姆尼的支持者。她说，经济是她最关心的议题。

"I have seen in the last four years that not only manufacturing jobs have left but so many people are out of work here [in North Carolina] and I also see incomes dropping. When I go to the grocery store and I see people that are taking things out of their cart because they cannot afford them, that hits home," she said.

“我看到过去4年来，不仅制造业工作外流，而且这里有许多人失业，我还看到人们收入在下降。我在杂货店看到有人把商品从推车里拿出来，因为他们买不起，这刺伤了我。”

After the Romney campaign heard about McNamara they came calling, and she agreed to host a Romney rally⁵ at her furniture plant. It was a thrilling moment for her.

罗姆尼竞选阵营听说麦克纳马拉的故事之后，给她打来电话，麦克纳马拉同意在她的家具厂里举行支持罗姆尼的集会。这是让她非常激动的时刻。

"When I had him here it was also nice to see him as an individual and not just the candidate that you see on TV making a speech," McNamara said.

“他到这里来的时候，我很高兴见到他本人，而不只在电视上讲话的那个候选人。”

The Romney campaign made McNamara's story the topic of a TV political ad.

罗姆尼竞选班子把麦克纳马拉的故事作为一则政治电视广告的主题。

Until now McNamara has not been active in politics. But she says it was time to speak out against proposed tax increases she says will hurt small business owners.

在此之前，麦克纳马拉不过问政治，她说，现在是反对增加税收提案的时候了，因为那会伤害小企业主。

"If I do not have the revenue⁶ and I am going to be paying more taxes on everything else, then I am not going to have the revenue to grow my business, and if I cannot grow my business I cannot hire that next employee," she said.

“如果我的经营没有收入，又要为所有的东西付更高的税，那么我就没有资金来发展我的企业。如果我不能发展企业，我就不能雇佣更多人手。”

McNamara says being an independent voter, courted by various political candidates, gives her a chance to voice ideas for improving the nation's economy by bringing manufacturing jobs back to an area of the country that needs them.

麦克纳马拉说，作为一个独立选民，得到各种政治候选人的争取，给她一个机会讲出她自己关于改善国家经济的想法，也就是将制造业的工作吸引回到最需要就业机会的地方。