Democratic Party presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama faced off in a debate Thursday in Texas. There was more agreement on issues than clashes over differences.
民主党总统候选人提名竞争者希拉里.克林顿和巴拉克.奥巴马星期四在德克萨斯州进行了辩论。他们在辩论中对许多问题更多地表示了一致而不是相互对立的看法。
The debate, on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin, was marked more by broad agreement on policy issues from immigration to health care; from the war in Iraq to this week's resignation by Cuban president Fidel Castro. But there were a few contentious moments. One came when Senator Obama was asked about charges that he had stolen phrases from a speech by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, using them in his own speeches without attribution.
在德克萨斯州立大学奥斯丁分校举行的这次辩论当中，两位民主党总统候选人提名竞争者在移民、医疗保健制度改革、伊拉克战争、本星期古巴领导人卡斯特罗辞职等一系列问题上表示了相当一致的看法。但是，辩论当中也出现几个激烈争辩的场面。奥巴马参议员被问道，他从马萨诸塞州州长帕特里克的一篇讲演当中“盗用”了几个说法用在自己的讲话当中。
"The notion that I had plagiarized from someone who is one of my national co-chairs, who gave me the line and suggested that I use it, I think is silly," he said.
他回答说：“一个人是我的全国竞选班子的共同主席之一，他把一些说法给了我，建议我使用。我使用了，就说我是盗用，这种说法我觉得实在是愚蠢。”
Senator Clinton followed up by saying that if a candidate bases his campaign on words, they should be his own.
希拉里.克林顿接著说，假如一个候选人把自己的竞选建立在言辞的基础上，那么其言词就应当是他自己的：
"There is no doubt that you are a passionate, eloquent speaker and I applaud you for that, but when you look at what we face in this country. We do need to unite the country, but we have to unite it for a purpose around very specific goals," she said.
“毫无疑问，你是一个富有激情、雄辩的演说家，我为你喝彩。但是，面对我们国家的现状，我们需要团结全国，我们必须围绕一些非常具体的问题把全国团结起来。”
In the sharpest attack in the debate, Clinton said that Obama's message was not "change you can believe in, it's change you can Xerox" -- a reference to a well-known photo copy machine. The line fell flat, however, and drew boos from the audience.
在这次辩论当中，希拉里.克林顿对奥巴马发动了一次最严厉的攻击。她说，奥巴马的竞选竞选口号“诸位可以信任的变革”实际意思不过是“诸位可以用复印机复印的变革”而已。但是，希拉里.克林顿的这句话没有达到目的。辩论会会场的听众对她喝倒彩。
In another exchange, the two candidates sparred over who would be the most ready to assume the position of commander in chief.
在另外一次辩论交锋中，两位候选人就谁最有能力担当全国武装部队总司令的问题进行了争辩。
Clinton emphasized her experience over the past seven years in the senate and cited an Obama supporter who had trouble coming up with a single accomplishment by the Illinois senator.
希拉里.克林顿强调她过去7年中在参议院的经验，并说奥巴马的一个支持者不能明确指出奥巴马有任何一项政绩。
Obama said he believed he was ready to take on the responsibilities of the presidency and he noted that every major newspaper in Texas has endorsed him. In response to a question on how he would confront the probable Republican nominee, Senator John McCain, a decorated war veteran, Obama noted that McCain had supported the war in Iraq, while he, Obama, had opposed it.
奥巴马说，他认为他有能力承担总统职责。他说，德克萨斯州的所有大报都发社论对他表示支持。在回答有关他会如何应对很有可能成为共和党总统候选人的麦凯恩参议员这个著名的老兵这个问题的时候，奥巴马说，麦凯恩支持伊拉克战争，而他反对伊拉克战争。
"It is going to be much easier for the candidate who was opposed to the concept of invading Iraq in the first place to have a debate about the wisdom of that decision than to have to argue about the tactics used subsequent to that decision," he said.
Asked about her criticism of the U.S. military surge in Iraq, Clinton said achieving progress by adding more U.S. troops is not the result the United States should be seeking.
"Upon taking office, I would ask the Secretary of Defense and the Joints Chief of Staff and my security advisors to give me a plan so that I could begin withdrawing our troops within 60 days," she said.
One of the best moments for both candidates came at the end when they were asked to describe a crisis they had faced. Obama spoke of being raised by a single mother and overcoming challenges as a youth. Clinton said the crises she has faced are well known, but that these were nothing compared to the difficulties faced by soldiers who have been maimed in combat overseas and the problems faced by workers, homeowners and people in need of health insurance.
Clinton once held a large lead here in Texas and in Ohio, the other large state which holds its primary on March 4, but Obama has won the last 19 contests in a row and has now pulled even with her in the polls. Analysts agree that Clinton needs wins in both states in order to remain viable, whereas Obama only needs to maintain his momentum to stay in the lead. |