The battle for control of the U.S. Congress has entered its final week and both major political parties are engaged in a furious last-minute push for votes.
11月2号是美国中期选举投票日，为争夺国会控制权的角力进入冲刺时刻，两大政党都在为争取选票做最后的努力。
According to the opinion polls and political pundits, Republicans continue to have the upper hand heading into the final days of the 2010 congressional midterm election campaign.
民调显示，共和党人在2010年国会中期选举竞选中继续保持优势。
Most Americans say the domestic economy is the number-one issue this year, and the public's dismal view of the economic climate is bound to hurt Democrats and help Republicans on Election Day, November 2.
大部分美国人表示，国内经济是今年的头号议题。民众对经济形势的悲观看法必然会在11月2号选举日影响民主党人，惠及共和党人。
Among those campaigning for Republican candidates is Ohio Congressman John Boehner, who is likely to become speaker of the House if Republicans win back a majority next week.
如果共和党11月2号赢回多数地位，正在为共和党候选人助选的俄亥俄州共和党众议员约翰·博纳就可能成为众议院议长。
"If you are tired of the high unemployment, if you are tired of all the takeovers and bailouts, [then] that is what elections are for," he said.
他说：“如果你们厌倦高失业率，如果你们厌倦所有这些并购和救市措施，这就是为什么要进行选举。”
Polls also give Republicans an edge in voter enthusiasm, though there are signs that lethargic Democrats may be waking up in the final days of the campaign.
民调还显示，尽管缺乏生气的民主党人在竞选的最后几天可能振作起来，但共和党人还是更能激发选民的热情。
Much of that Republican intensity is being driven by the Tea Party movement, a loose coalition of conservative and libertarian-leaning groups around the country that is demanding spending and tax cuts and a smaller role for the central government generally.
共和党人紧锣密鼓的竞选大部分要归功于茶叶党运动。这个全国性的保守派联盟要求削减开支，降低税率，缩小政府作用。
"We are angry," noted a Tea Party member at a recent rally in Massachusetts. "I do not have to ask people to join the Tea Party. I just say, hey, I am in the Tea Party, what can I do?"
In recent days there are signs that some key Senate races may be tightening, giving hope to beleaguered Democrats who fear the possibility of losing control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate to Republicans.
最近几天，有迹象显示，一些关键的参议院竞选活动变得激烈起来了，使担心失去国会参众两院多数地位的民主党人看到了一点希望。
Republicans need a gain of 39 seats to win back control of the House and a pickup of 10 seats to regain a majority in the Senate.
共和党人需要增加39席才能赢得众议院多数，赢得参议院多数则需要增加10个席位。
Richard Wolffe is a political analyst for MSNBC television and a guest on VOA's Issues in the News program.
理查德·沃尔夫是MSNBC电视节目的政治分析员。他在接受美国之音采访的时候说：
"But it is a very closely fought election, in spite of what the predictions are," said Wolffe. "You look at the polls here and you look at state by state and district by district, pretty much all the important races are within the margin of error."
“尽管有这些预测，但这仍是一场激烈的较量。各种民调、各州和各地区的情况都显示，几乎所有重要的竞争双方的力量都在仲伯之间。”
Democrats are well aware that they will do poorly if voters see the election merely as a referendum on the party in power, given the weak national economy.
民主党人非常清楚，如果选民仅仅把这次选举看作是对执政党的一次全民公决，那么，目前疲软的经济会使民主党处于劣势。
So as he campaigns for Democratic candidates around the country, President Barack Obama is urging voters to see the election as a choice between going backward and moving ahead.
因此，奥巴马总统在全国各地为民主党候选人助选时，敦促选民把这次选举看作是在后退和前进之间做出选择。
"Their whole campaign strategy is amnesia," said President Obama. "And so you need to remember that this election is a choice between the policies that got us into this mess and the policies that are leading out of this mess."
奥巴马说：“他们的竞选战略就是健忘。因此，你们需要记住，这次选举是政策选择，是选择让我们陷入这种混乱的政策呢，还是选择将使我们摆脱这种混乱的政策。”
Despite the polls that show some of the key Senate races tightening in recent days, the overall polling picture looks much better for Republicans than Democrats.
尽管民调显示，最近一些重要的参议院席位的选情紧绷，但从总的民调结果来看，共和党候选人的前景要比民主党人好得多。
"All polls show that the public remains deeply dissatisfied with the president, with the Congress, with the parties and with the way things are going in the country today," said Karlyn Bowman who monitors public opinion at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.
美国企业研究所跟踪公众舆论的卡林·鲍曼说：“所有民调都显示，公众对总统、对国会、对两党、以及对国家目前的情况非常不满。”
But Bowman is quick to point out that Republicans are likely to do well in next Tuesday's election despite the fact that many voters view them even more negatively than Democrats.
"Democrats understand that voters are upset and they are likely to vote against them because of the direction of the country. But Democrats are trying to make this a choice between Democrats and Republicans because Democrats are not popular, but Republicans are not popular either," says Nathan Gonzales, the political editor of the Rothenberg Political Report, a non-partisan newsletter in Washington. He was a guest on VOA's Encounter program.
Campaign monitoring groups say this could be the most expensive U.S. midterm election ever, and they estimate that $2 billion could be spent by the end of the campaign next week. That is due in part to a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that changed campaign finance laws and allows corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on independent television ads calling for the election or defeat of specific candidates.
竞选监督团体说，这次可能是花费最多的一次国会中期选举，他们估计，到竞选结束，总花费将会达到20亿美元。部分原因在于，最高法院今年早些时候的一项裁决改变了有关竞选经费的法律，允许公司和工会不受限制地花钱做独立电视广告，支持或反对某位候选人。 |