U.S. President Barack Obama is concluding a three-day, five-state trip around the country, defending his administration's progress in repairing the economy. Support for the president's economic plan is fading as mid-term elections for Congress get closer.
美国总统奥巴马刚刚对全国五个州进行了为期三天的访问，为他领导的政府拯救经济的成就进行辩护。随着中期选举的临近，公众对奥巴马总统经济计划的支持度正在下滑。
President Obama took his campaign-style trip to the back yard of a family in the Midwestern U.S. city of Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday.
奥巴马总统本次访问带有当初的竞选风格。他8月18日来到中西部俄亥俄州哥伦布市一户住家的后院。
He talked with Joe and Rhonda Weithman, and several dozen of their neighbors about the main issue on the minds of many Americans this election year, the U.S. economy.
他与魏斯曼(Weithman)夫妇和几十位邻居讨论了很多美国人在今年选举年都关心的主要问题：美国经济。
"Whereas we were losing jobs in the private sector when I was first sworn in, we are now gaining jobs and we have gained jobs seven consecutive months in the private sector," said President Obama. "The economy was shrinking about six percent, and the economy is now growing. So we have made progress. But, let's face it, the progress has not been fast enough."
奥巴马说：“我开始宣誓就职时，私营企业的就业正在下滑，现在就业却在增加，私营企业的就业已经连续7个月在不断增加。美国经济当时正在收缩大约6%，现在却在增长。所以，我们取得了进步。但我们需要承认，进步的速度还不够快。”
An Associated Press public opinion poll shows that only 41 percent of those surveyed believe Mr. Obama has done a good job handling the economy.
美联社一项民意测验显示，接受调查的民众只有41%认为奥巴马总统对经济问题处理得当。
The nation's unemployment rate remains stalled at 9.5 percent. Ohio, which has lost many of its manufacturing jobs, has a jobless rate of more than 10 percent.
全国失业率继续保持在9.5%的高水平。俄亥俄州失去了很多制造业工作，现在的失业率超过10%。
At Wednesday's informal meeting, the president said it will take time to regain the eight million jobs that have been lost during the past two years. But he said confidence will grow as the economy rebounds.
奥巴马总统对魏斯曼夫妇和他们的邻居们说，俄亥俄州过去两年中失去了8百万份工作，全部恢复需要时间。但是他说，随着经济的复苏，民众的信心将会增加。
"So what we are trying to do is create a virtuous cycle, where people start feeling better and better about the economy. And a lot of it is sort of like recovering from an illness - you get a little bit stronger each day, and you take a few more steps each day. And that is where our economy is at right now," President Obama added.
他说：“所以，我们正试图创造一个有利的循环，让人们开始对经济感到越来越满意。这很像是病后的康复，每天会好一点点，每天会多走几步。这就是国家经济的现状。”
On this trip, the president has been campaigning and raising money for Democratic Party candidates in Wisconsin, California, Washington state and Florida, as well as Ohio.
奥巴马总统本次对威斯康辛、加利福尼亚、华盛顿、佛罗里达和俄亥俄州访问期间，还为民主党籍候选人拉票并筹款。
The entire House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate and many state governorships will be up for election in November.
11月举行的中期选举，将决定美国众议院全部席位、参议院三分之一议席和许多州州长席位的归属。
After the back yard gathering, the president held a fund-raising event for Ohio's governor, where he criticized Republicans for their opposition to his economic initiatives.
同魏斯曼夫妇和邻居们的讨论结束后，奥巴马总统为俄亥俄州州长举行了一次筹款活动。奥巴马在这次活动中批评共和党人反对他提出的经济计划。
"'No' on clean energy jobs, right here in Ohio and across the country. 'No' on making college more affordable. 'No' on Wall Street reform. Do you remember our slogan during the [2008 presidential] campaign? 'Yes, We Can.' This year, their slogan is 'No, We Can't,'" said President Obama
他说：“他们反对在俄亥俄州和全国各地增加清洁能源就业，反对降低大学学费，反对华尔街进行金融改革。你是否还记得我们在2008年总统选举中提出的‘是的，我们能’的口号？今年，他们的口号是，‘不，我们不能’。”
Republicans say Mr. Obama's policies involve too much government spending and will hurt the economy rather than helping it.
共和党人说，奥巴马总统的政策需要太多的政府开支，对国家经济的弊大于利。
After his campaign swing, the president is scheduled to return to Washington briefly before he and his family start a 10-day vacation on the resort island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
本次巡回访问结束后，奥巴马总统计划返回华盛顿，短暂停留后，全家人会到麻萨诸塞州的玛莎葡萄园岛度假10天。 |