VOA常速英语2014--奥巴马努力对付埃博拉的政治影响（在线收听）

Obama Fights Ebola’s Political Fallout 奥巴马努力对付埃博拉的政治影响

WHITE HOUSE— 

The fear of Ebola has become a political factor in the United States, where President Barack Obama’s Democratic Party is fighting to retain control of the Senate in congressional elections next month. The one fatality from Ebola on U.S. soil and two additional cases are posing a political challenge for Obama.

An infected nurse’s arrival at a Washington-area hospital topped the news in the U.S. as criticism mounted against the president, along with accusations that his administration has not done enough to protect Americans.  

一名感染护士住进华盛顿地区一家医院，这件事成了美国的头条新闻，对总统的批评也在升级，同时有指责称其政府未能做足够工作来保护美国人。

This president - sometimes criticized for golfing and fundraising during major crises - canceled some trips in recent days to hold meetings with his Ebola team.

以前总是有人批评总统在重大危机期间打高尔夫或筹款，如今却取消最近几天的行程，与他的埃博拉团队召开了会议。

After one of those meetings, Obama called cameras into the Oval Office and offered assurances to Americans. “I understand that people are scared. But what I want to emphasize once again is that right now we’ve got one individual who came in with the disease,” he said.

一次会议过后，奥巴马让摄像机进入椭圆形办公室，希望美国人能放心。“我理解你们的担心，但我想再次强调的一点是，现在有一名美国人感染了这个疾病。”

Along with working to stop Ebola, the president is trying to contain political damage resulting from Americans’ fear of the disease.

除了努力遏制埃博拉，总统还努力控制美国人对埃博拉恐惧带来的政治影响。

“It’s important for all of us to keep perspective in terms of how we handle this. We are taking this very seriously at the highest levels, starting with me,” said Obama.

“重要的是每个人都能理解我们是如何处理这个危机的，从我开始的最高层都在认真对待。”

The potential for political damage to the Democrats is real, according to analyst Julian Zelizer, who spoke via Skype.

分析家朱利安·杰里哲通过Skype接受了我们的采访，他说对民主党来说这件事潜在的政治影响是真实存在的。

“It’s creating a sense of crisis.  It’s raising questions about government, and that will all point to problems, I think, for the Democratic Party,” said Zelizer

“这就造成了危机感，人们开始对政府质疑，还会提出针对民主党的问题。”

Ebola has featured prominently in debates among candidates in key races that could determine whether Democrats keep control of the Senate, with Republicans blasting the administration for not imposing a travel ban on West African countries with Ebola outbreaks.

Democrats have run ads accusing Republicans of cutting funding to the Centers for Disease Control.

在决定民主党是否能控制参议院的关键辩论中，埃博拉一直是讨论的重点，共和党指责政府未能对爆发埃博拉西非国家施加旅行限制。

民主党指责共和党削减对疾病控制中心的拨款。

Meanwhile, the president on Friday named a former White House official as Ebola "czar" to coordinate U.S. efforts to fight the virus. The White House said Ron Klain, a former aide to two vice presidents, will take the role.

Obama had mentioned the possibility of an Ebola czar on Thursday, when he authorized additional military forces to help with containment efforts in West Africa. He also authorized National Guard and reservist troops as part of the U.S. commitment to deploy 4,000 American soldiers to fight Ebola at its source in West Africa.

奥巴马还任命一名埃博拉特使来在遏制工作中起先头作用，他还授权国民警卫和预备役等4000名美国士兵前往埃博拉的源头西非进行遏制工作。

Obama has said he is “absolutely confident” a serious outbreak in the United States can be prevented. Analysts say he and his party hope that will remain the case before next month’s elections.

奥巴马说他“非常相信”能预防埃博拉在美国的严重爆发，分析家称他和他的党派希望在下月选举之间仍保持这样的自信。