Both major U.S. presidential candidates and their running mates reacted Monday to the financial turmoil on Wall Street in the wake of the bankruptcy announcement from the investment bank Lehman Brothers. Barack Obama and John McCain have both promised to reform federal regulatory bodies to prevent another series of bank failures. The problems in the U.S. financial sector have refocused attention on the economy as the biggest issue in the presidential campaign.
美国两大政党的总统候选人和他们的竞选夥伴星期一都对华尔街在雷曼兄弟投资银行宣布破产以后出现的混乱局面作出了反应。美国金融业的动荡再次使经济成为这次大选中人们关注的最大议题。
Democratic candidate Barack Obama campaigned in Colorado and described the situation on Wall Street as the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
民主党总统候选人奥巴马在科罗拉多竞选时，称华尔街局势为1930年代经济大萧条以来最严重的金融危机。
Obama blamed the current crisis on eight years of Bush administration policies that he said have shredded consumer protections and weakened government oversight.
奥巴马将目前的危机归咎于布什政府8年来的政策，说这种政策打碎了消费者的保护层，削弱了政府的职能。
"Now, instead of prosperity trickling down, the pain has trickled up from the struggles of hard working Americans on Main Street to the largest firms on Wall Street," he said. "This country cannot afford four more years of this failed philosophy."
他说：“现在，非但不是经济繁荣慢慢惠及普通民众，反而是痛苦从努力工作的普通美国人向上延伸到了华尔街最大的公司。我们的国家不能让这种失败的政策理念再持续4年了。”
Obama's Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, held campaign rallies in Florida.
奥巴马的对手、共和党参议员麦凯恩正在佛罗里达竞选。
McCain promised that he would replace what he called the outdated patchwork quilt of financial regulatory oversight with a new system that is more transparent.
麦凯恩承诺要用一个新的更透明的体系来代替他所谓过时的、零碎的金融监管政策。
"People are frightened by these events," he said. "Our economy, I think, still, the fundamentals of our economy are strong. But these are very, very difficult times."
麦凯恩说：“这些事件使民众受到惊吓。我们的经济，我认为，经济的基本面仍然强劲。但是目前经历着非常艰难的时刻。”
Democrats, however, seized on McCain's comment that the fundamentals of the economy remain strong, especially in light of public opinion polls that have shown economic issues are the top concerns for voters this year.
民主党人抓住了麦凯恩有关经济基本面仍旧强劲的说法，特别是最近的民调显示，经济议题已经成为今年选民最关注的问题。
At a rally later in the day in Florida, McCain changed his comments.
在佛罗里达竞选的同一天稍后，麦凯恩改变了说法。
McCain said he believes the country is in an economic crisis and he vowed to clean up the greed and corruption on Wall Street.
他说，他认为美国处于经济危机，他誓言要清除华尔街的贪婪和腐败。
"People tonight will be sitting around the kitchen table trying to figure out how they are going to stay in their homes, how they are going to keep their job, how they are going to put food on the table, and America is in a crisis today," he said.
麦凯恩说：“今天晚上，人们会围坐在餐桌周围，盘算怎么才能保住自己的家，怎么才能保住自己的工作，怎么才能保证有饭吃，美国今天处在危机中。”
Senator Obama said Senator McCain's initial positive comments on the economy show he is out of touch with the economic concerns of most Americans.
奥巴马说，麦凯恩最初对经济的乐观评论显示他根本不了解大多数美国人对经济的关切。
"Why else would he say that we have made great progress economically under George Bush. We just woke up to news of financial disaster, and this morning he said that the fundamentals of the economy are still strong," he said.
“他为什么要说在乔治.布什的领导下我们取得了经济的巨大进步呢。我们刚刚醒来就听到了金融灾难的消息，而今天早上他还说经济的基本面仍然强劲。”
Obama's vice presidential running mate, Senator Joe Biden, also weighed in.
奥巴马的副总统候选人拜登也对麦凯恩提出批评。
Biden told a crowd in Michigan that Senator McCain's economic plan would continue the approach of the past eight years under President Bush.
他在密西根对选民说，麦凯恩的经济计划将持续布什总统过去8年的作法。
Meanwhile, McCain's vice presidential running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, campaigned in Colorado and said she and McCain would fight to keep taxes low as the best way to grow the economy.
与此同时，麦凯恩的副总统竞选搭档、阿拉斯加州长佩林在科罗拉多竞选时表示，她和麦凯恩都会努力保持低税率，因为这是推动经济增长的最好方式。
Palin has so far overshadowed Biden in the battle of vice presidential candidates. Biden brings years of foreign policy experience to the Democratic ticket, but Palin has excited social conservatives within the Republican Party and is demonstrating appeal to a broader cross-section of women voters as well.
到目前为止，佩林在副总统候选人的势头上超过了拜登。拜登是带着多年的外交经验成为奥巴马的竞选搭档的，而佩林则激励了共和党内部的社会保守派人士，同时展现出对各界女性选民的吸引力。 |