Presidential contenders John McCain and Barack Obama debated the wisdom of dealing directly with Iran Monday. The exchange on foreign policy came on the eve of primaries Tuesday in Kentucky and Oregon, the next contests in the long running Democratic nomination battle between Obama and Hillary Clinton.
美国两位总统竞争者麦凯恩和奥巴马星期一就如何更明智地直接同伊朗打交道进行了辩论。在肯塔基州和俄勒冈州星期二举行初选前夕双方进行了这次有关外交政策的辩论。星期二的初选是奥巴马和克林顿之间历时长久的民主党提名战的下一次角逐。
Senator McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, was in Chicago to speak about the U.S. role in the global economy.
笃定成为共和党总统提名人的麦凯恩参议员在芝加哥就美国在全球经济中的作用发表讲话。
But McCain opened his speech with an attack on Senator Obama. McCain seized on remarks Obama made the previous day in which he described the threat posed by Iran to the United States as tiny compared to the threat once posed by the Soviet Union.
讲话一开始，麦凯恩就对奥巴马进行攻击。麦凯恩抓住奥巴马头一天发表的评论进行攻击。奥巴马表示，伊朗对美国构成的威胁跟当年苏联的威胁相比微不足道。
McCain accused Obama of underestimating the threat Iran poses to the United States.
麦凯恩指责奥巴马低估伊朗对美国构成的威胁。
"Senator Obama has declared and repeatedly reaffirmed his intention to meet the president of Iran without any preconditions, likening it to meetings between former American presidents and the leaders of the Soviet Union," he said. "Such a statement betrays the depth of Senator Obama's inexperience and reckless judgment. These are very serious deficiencies for an American president to possess."
他说：“奥巴马参议员公开表示并多次重申打算在没有任何先决条件的情况下会晤伊朗总统，而且还把这种会晤同前美国总统和苏联领导人会晤相提并论。这种评论充分说明奥巴马参议员是多么经验不足，判断鲁莽。对一位美国总统来说，这些是非常严重的缺陷。”
Obama was quick to respond to McCain's attack during a campaign event in Billings, Montana.
奥巴马立即对麦凯恩的攻击做出回应。
"And so I have made it clear for years that the threat from Iran is grave, but what I have said is that we should not just talk to our friends, we should be willing to engage our enemies as well," he said. "That is what diplomacy is all about. The reason Iran is so much more powerful now than it was a few years ago is because of the Bush-McCain policy of fighting an endless war in Iraq and refusing to pursue direct diplomacy with Iran. They are the ones who have not dealt with Iran wisely.
奥巴马在蒙塔那州比灵斯进行的一次竞选造势活动上说：“多年来我非常明确地表示，来自伊朗的威胁非常严重，但是我要说明的是，我们不应仅仅同我们的朋友商谈，我们也应同我们的敌人进行接触。这就是外交工作的真谛。伊朗今天之所以比几年前更加强大，其原因在于布什-麦凯恩无休止的伊拉克战争政策，以及拒绝奉行同伊朗进行直接接触的外交政策。正是他们在不明智地同伊朗打交道。”
Last week, Obama accused McCain and President Bush of what he called dishonest and divisive attacks over his willingness to talk to Iran. Without mentioning Obama by name, President Bush compared those who would negotiate with terrorists and radicals to the appeasers of Nazi Germany prior to the Second World War.
上星期，奥巴马批评麦凯恩和布什有关他愿意同伊朗会谈的攻击是不诚实的，具有分裂性质。虽然没有直接提到奥巴马的名字，布什将那些愿意同恐怖分子和激进分子谈判的人跟二战之前安抚纳粹德国的绥靖主义相提并论。
The foreign policy exchange over Iran came on the eve of Democratic primaries in Kentucky and Oregon, the latest match-ups in the long running battle between Obama and rival Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.
奥巴马和麦凯恩就伊朗问题进行的外交政策辩论发生在肯塔基州和俄勒冈州举行初选的前夕。这次两个州的初选是奥巴马和他的对手克林顿之间历时长久的民主党总统提名战的最新角逐。
The latest polls give Obama a slight lead in Oregon. On Sunday, he drew a crowd of about 75,000 at a rally in Portland.
最新的民调显示，奥巴马在俄勒冈州略微领先。星期天，奥巴马在波特兰出席了估计有大约7万5千人参加的一场集会。
Senator Clinton is focused on Kentucky where a new poll gives her a huge lead over Obama.
克林顿参议员则主要在肯塔基州进行竞选活动，克林顿在肯塔基州的最新民调中遥遥领先奥巴马。
Clinton told supporters in Kentucky she intends to keep campaigning right through the end of the primary season on June 3.
克林顿在肯塔基州对她的支持者说，她计划继续竞选，直到6月3日初选结束。
"So, I am going to make my case and I am going to make until we have a nominee," she said. "But we are not going to have one today and we are not going to have one tomorrow and we are not going to have one the next day. And if Kentucky turns out tomorrow, I will be closer to that nomination because of you."
她说：“因此，我会证明，我会在我们产生一个提名人之前继续证明。但是我们今天不会产生一个提名人，而且明天也不会，后天也不会。如果肯塔基州明天能证明，我会因为你们离提名更近一步。”
Obama has a solid lead in the overall delegate count and continues to gain the support of Democratic superdelegates. Superdelegates are Democratic officeholders and party activists free to support either candidate.
奥巴马在整个代表人数上稳稳超过克林顿，并继续赢得民主党超级代表的支持。超级代表是民主党的官员和党的活动分子，他们有权选择自己支持的候选人。
The latest superdelegate to line up behind Obama is veteran Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia. Byrd decided to support Obama even though Clinton easily defeated Obama in the West Virginia primary last week.
最新站出来支持奥巴马的超级代表是西维吉尼亚州的资深参议员伯德。即使克林顿上星期在西维吉尼亚的初选中轻松战胜奥巴马，伯德还是决定支持奥巴马。
After Tuesday's contests in Kentucky and Oregon, only three more Democratic primaries remain. Puerto Rico holds a primary on June 1, followed by South Dakota and Montana on June 3.
在肯塔基州和俄勒冈州星期二的角逐之后，民主党党内初选只剩下三个地区。波多黎哥6月1日举行初选，6月3日在南达科他和蒙塔那举行最后两个州的初选。 |