Senator Barack Obama has kicked off his general election campaign with a scathing attack on his Republican rival, Senator John McCain's economic policies. Obama began a two-week tour of Republican states and so-called swing states - states that sometimes vote Democratic and sometimes Republican in presidential elections. McCain was attending fund-raisers in Virginia and Washington, D.C., to help raise the cash he will need to battle Obama between now and November.
奥巴马参议员的总统竞选活动由猛烈抨击其共和党对手麦凯恩参议员的经济政策开始。奥巴马踏上两个星期的竞选行程，拜会由共和党掌控的州以及所谓的摇摆州。摇摆州指的是在总统大选中有时投给民主党，有时投给共和党的州。麦凯恩则在维吉尼亚州和华盛顿出席募款大会，来筹措从现在到11月投票之前，他与奥巴马竞争所需要的经费。
In his first campaign appearance since Senator Hillary Clinton threw her support behind him on Saturday, Democrat Barack Obama launched a two-week tour under the motto "Change That Works for You." He began the tour in the southern state of North Carolina, a state that has not voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in 30 years. He sought to draw sharp distinctions between himself and McCain on the economy.
奥巴马在上星期六获得克林顿参议员对他的支持之后，开始了两星期的以“务实变革”为口号的竞选行程。他首先来到南方州北卡罗来纳，这是一个30年来没有投票给民主党的州。他寻求展现自己与麦凯恩截然不同的经济政策。
"This is the choice you will face in November," Obama said. "You can vote for John McCain, [Crowd yells "NO!"] and see a continuation of Bush economic policies, more tax cuts to the wealthy, more corporate tax breaks, more tax breaks going to companies that are shipping jobs overseas, more mountains of debt, and little to no relief for families that are struggling with the rising cost of everything from health care, to gasoline to a college education. But I don't think that is the future we want."
奥巴马说：“这是你们11月将面临的选择。你可以投给约翰.麦凯恩(群众高喊：不！) ，然后看到布什经济政策的延续，继续给有钱人减税，继续给大企业减税，给把工作机会流失到外国的公司减税，看到更多堆积如山的债务，而那些在高涨的医保费用、汽油价格和大学学费当中挣扎的家庭却只能得到一点点帮助，甚至一点帮助也没有。我不认为这是我们想要的未来。”
Later Monday he is heading to Missouri. His campaign says he will also go to the swing states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. Obama is clearly trying to appeal to Republicans and independents to change course, as he did in North Carolina.
星期一稍晚，奥巴马到了密苏里州。他的竞选团队说，奥巴马还将前往俄亥俄、宾夕法尼亚以及佛罗里达等摇摆州。显然，奥巴马正在努力争取共和党与独立选民转到他一边，如同之前在北卡罗来纳州一样。
"This is not an argument between left or right, liberal or conservative," he said. "It is not liberal or conservative to say that we have tried it their way for eight long years, and it has failed. It is time to try something new. It is time for a change."
奥巴马说：“这不是左派和右派、或自由派和保守派之争。我们已经试过他们的办法长达8年，并且失败了，所以这无关自由派和保守派。现在该试试新办法了，现在是变革的时刻了。”
Obama said McCain would continue Bush administration economic policies he called "the most fiscally irresponsible in history." Obama said he, on the other hand, would grant a tax break to most working families, and raise taxes on the highest-earning Americans.
奥巴马说，麦凯恩将延续布什的经济政策，而他称这是“历史上最不负责任的财经政策” 。奥巴马表示，他要给大部分工薪家庭减税，而提高对收入最高的那部分美国人的税负。
Speaking at a fundraiser in Virginia, McCain pushed back, saying tax increases on anyone would worsen the already struggling economy. He repeated his offer for Obama to join him in a series of town hall meetings. McCain also issued the call in a speech last week.
麦凯恩在维吉尼亚州的一个募款大会上反击说，给任何人加税，都会让已经陷于困境的经济情况更加恶化。他再次向奥巴马提议，共同举行一系列公民会议。麦凯恩上星期曾经在演说中提到过这个建议。
"I'd like to do is have 10 town hall meetings, one a week, between now and the Democrat convention, maybe have 2 [00] to 400 people, chosen by an objective organization, have them show up and come to these town hall meetings all over America. The first one I would suggest to take place on June 12th, and that would be in New York City," he said.
麦凯恩说：“我希望举办10场这样的公民会议，从现在到民主党全国大会为止，一个星期举办一场，由一个客观的机构挑选2百到4百个人，在全美各地来参加这些会议。我建议6月12号在纽约市举办第一场。”
New York City also happens to be where McCain is heading for his next fundraiser on Tuesday. The Obama campaign has said it agrees to schedule some type of joint appearances with McCain, but there have not been discussions on specifics yet.
纽约市是麦凯恩星期二参加募款活动的地方。奥巴马竞选团队同意与麦凯恩共同在某些场合露面，但还没有讨论具体细节。 |