纽约时报 拜登加入竞选 声称要为国家的灵魂而战(2)（在线收听）

Mr. Biden enters the Democratic race as something of a front-runner,

尽管面临来自各方的挑战，以及民众对其长期以来的政治记录挥之不去的质疑，

albeit one beset by challenges from all flanks and looming questions about his long political record.

拜登几乎还是以领跑者的身份登上了民主党竞选名单。

Two of Mr. Biden’s populist rivals, Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts,

拜登有两位民粹主义对手，一位是来自佛蒙特州的参议员伯尼·桑德斯，另一位是来自马萨诸塞州的参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦，

were already jabbing at his relationships with moneyed interests on Thursday.

周四，这两人就已经开始抨击他和有钱阶级的关系了。

And Mr. Biden’s allies believe he must soon explain to voters his evolution on a range of issues,

拜登的盟友也认为，他必须尽快向选民解释他在一系列问题上的进展，

including elemental ones like criminal justice, abortion rights and the Iraq war.

比如在刑事司法，堕胎权和伊拉克战争等基本问题上的进展。

In a sign he may recognize the urgency of that task,

或许，拜登已经在征兆中意识到了这项任务的紧迫性，

Mr. Biden recently spoke privately with Anita Hill,

因为最近他已经私下和安妮塔·希尔交谈过了，

who in 1991 was questioned harshly by a Senate committee led by Mr. Biden

原来，1991年妮塔·希尔在对现任最高法院法官克拉伦斯·托马斯提出性骚扰的指控后，

after she accused Clarence Thomas, now a Supreme Court justice, of sexual harassment.

曾受到拜登领导的参议院委员会的严厉质询。

Mr. Biden expressed regret, according to an aide,

据一位助手说，拜登对他那次的行为表示很遗憾，

but in an interview Ms. Hill said she left the conversation feeling deeply unsatisfied and did not describe Mr. Biden as having apologized.

但希尔在接受采访时说，谈话结束时她感到非常不满，她也没提到拜登已经向她道歉。

Mr. Biden’s long-awaited entry effectively completes the list of Democratic candidates,

拜登这次被期待已久的入场有力地补全了民主党的候选名单，

a cast of 20 characters that is the most diverse presidential field ever.

名单上的20名候选人堪称是有史以来最多元的总统竞选阵营。

Atop it, for now, are two white men in their eighth decades of life — Mr. Biden and Mr. Sanders.

目前，高居榜首的是两位80多岁的白人男性——拜登和桑德斯。

Mr. Biden’s position as the leading Democratic candidate is an unfamiliar one for him.

民主党候选人首选这一资格对拜登来说并不很熟悉。

His two previous presidential bids, in 1988 and 2008, failed to catch on.

他前两次的总统竞选，一次是1988年，另一次是2008年，都没有成功。

Though he campaigned twice as former President Barack Obama’s running mate,

尽管拜登曾两次作为前总统巴拉克·奥巴马的竞选搭档参加（总统）竞选，

Mr. Biden has never been the starring actor in a major political production of his own inception.

他还从来没有在他自己的大型政治版《盗梦空间》中担任过主角。

The overarching question of Mr. Biden’s campaign

拜登竞选要面临的首要问题是

is whether he can fill that role with sufficient competence and imagination

他是否有足够的能力和想象力来胜任这个角色，

to both dispel Democratic concerns about his personal discipline

消除民主党对他个人纪律的担忧，

and inspire younger voters for whom he is a relatively distant figure.

并激励年轻的选民，因为对这些选民来说，他和大家比较疏远。

He gave a brief preview on Thursday evening of how he might talk about issues besides Mr. Trump,

周四晚上，他简要介绍了自己接下来可能会讨论特朗普之外的其他问题，

telling the fund-raising gathering that he would focus on “economic dignity” as an organizing concept.

他在筹款大会上表示，他将把“经济尊严”作为竞选的一个组织理念。

“My North Star of what we’re going to talk about, in terms of the economy,

“关于我们后期要讨论的问题，就经济而言，我的方针就是

is restoring the middle class, but looking at dignity, not just the G.D.P.,” said Mr. Biden.

复兴中产阶级，但不能只看GDP，也要看尊严，”拜登说。