Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain Friday focused on states that could play a pivotal role in the November 4 election.
美国总统候选人奥巴马和麦凯恩星期五把精力集中在能在11月4号的选举中发挥枢纽作用的州。
With a little more than two weeks to go until Election Day, Democrat Barack Obama is keeping up the pressure on his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain.
离开选举日不到两星期了，民主党总统候选人奥巴马正在对他的共和党对手麦凯恩加强压力。
Obama campaigned Friday in the southern state of Virginia, which last voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in 1964.
奥巴马星期五在维吉尼亚州的南部竞选，该地区上次选举了民主党人当总统是在1964年。
Obama continued his relentless campaign to tie Senator McCain to the economic policies of the Bush administration.
奥巴马继续毫不懈怠地展开竞选，把麦凯恩参议员与布什政府的经济政策相联系。
"So I know I am not running against President Bush," he said. "But I am running against President Bush's policies, the policies John McCain has supported, the policies John McCain would continue and that is something that we cannot afford another four years of, more George Bush economics!"
他说：“我当然明白我不是在跟布什总统竞选。但是我是在跟布什总统的政策相抗争，这些政策是麦凯恩一向支持的、而且将继续执行的。我们可经不起另外四年的布什经济策略了。”
The latest polls give Obama a lead in Virginia. Obama is also competitive in several other states that have supported Republican presidential candidates in recent elections including Missouri, North Carolina and Colorado.
最近的民调显示，奥巴马在维吉尼亚领先。奥巴马在另外几个在最近几次选举中支持共和党总统候选人的州里，也相当具有竞争力，如密苏里州、北卡罗来纳州和科罗拉多州。
Recent national polls also give Obama a lead over McCain by margins ranging from five to 14 points.
But Obama is quick to caution his supporters not to get too confident in the final two weeks of the campaign.
"You can't pay attention to the polls," he said. "We have got to keep making our case for change."
Also Friday Obama won the endorsement of the Washington Post newspaper, which called him the right man for a perilous time.
Meanwhile, Republican John McCain campaigned in Florida on Friday, another key battleground or swing state where both campaigns are very competitive.
同在星期五，共和党人麦凯恩在佛罗里达州展开竞选，这又是一个战场州，双方的竞争激烈。
McCain slammed Obama's tax plan and promised that he too would take the country in a different direction from the Bush administration.
麦凯恩抨击奥巴马的税务计划，并保证要引导国家迈向不同于布什政府的方向。
McCain acknowledged to the crowd that he is trailing in the polls, but he also urged his supporters to pull off an election surprise on November 4.
麦凯恩向民众承认自己的民调得分落后，但是他也敦促他的支持者在11月4号的大选中出奇制胜。
"We have 18 days to go. We are six points down," he said. "The national media has written us off. Senator Obama is measuring the drapes. But you know what? They forgot to let you decide. My friends, as it has been in other races, we've got them just where we want them!"
他说：“我们还有18天的时间。我们落后六个百分点。全国媒体认为我们没有指望。奥巴马参议员觉得自己胜券在握。但是你知道有一个重要因素：他忘了让你们来作出决定了。我的朋友们，我们正击中他们的要害问题了。”
In the final days of the campaign, both McCain and Obama are trying to improve their prospects in several important swing states where the margin is close.
在竞选的最后阶段，麦凯恩和奥巴马都努力改进自己在几个重要的战场州里的前景，在那几个州里双方的比分接近。
Some of them are large states like Ohio, Florida and North Carolina that are major prizes in the state by state electoral voting that decides who will win the presidency.
其中包括像俄亥俄、佛罗里达和北卡罗来纳之类的大州，这些州是按州逐一计算选举团票的，所以对于谁当选总统能起决定性作用。
Obama has broadened the number of election battelground states to several that normally vote Republican, including Virginia.
University of Virginia political expert Larry Sabato told MSNBC television that Obama is displaying unexpected strength in a state where McCain was the favorite.
"It causes the McCain people and the Republicans to spend money and to spend time in a state that they actually listed as solid Republican in the spring," he said. "They said they had nothing to worry about and planned to put out no effort in Virginia. Well, guess what, it turned into a toss-up state."
Most experts believe that Obama's surge in national and some state polls is a direct result of voter unhappiness over the state of the U.S. economy and an overwhelming desire for change after eight years of the Bush presidency. |