Economy Remains Focus in Final Days of US Election Campaign
奥巴马麦凯恩在美国关键州拼博

The longest presidential election campaign in U.S. history is in its final week, and Democrat Barack Obama continues to hold a lead in the polls over Republican John McCain. Both candidates are focused on the economy in the final days of the campaign, and on a small group of states that hold the key to victory on November 4.

美国有史以来历时最久的竞选活动已进入最后一周，而民主党候选人奥巴马继续在民调中领先于共和党人麦凯恩。两位候选人在最后几天的竞选中把焦点集中在经济方面，并且针对为数不多的几个州，因为这些州是11月4号赢得大选胜利的关键。

Senator Barack Obama leads Senator McCain by an average of seven points in the national polls. More importantly, Obama is seen as leading in the state-by-state electoral vote tally that determines who will be the next president.

奥巴马参议员在全国民调中平均领先于麦凯恩参议员七个百分点，尤其显要的是，人们眼见奥巴马参议员正逐一在几个州里赢得决定谁将当选总统的选举人选票。

But McCain remains undaunted by the long electoral odds in the final week of the campaign. He spoke to a rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

但是麦凯恩在这最后一周的竞选中，不顾长期历经的坎坷，仍然不屈不挠。他在宾夕法尼亚州赫西的大会上发表讲话说：

"I have fought for you most of my life, and in places where defeat meant more than returning to the Senate," said McCain. "There are other ways to love this country, but I have never been the kind to back down when the stakes are high."

“我的大半生都在为你们而斗争，在有些场合，失败并不仅仅意味著回去当参议员而已。爱国可以通过其他方式，但是我不是那种到关键时刻打退堂鼓的人。”

In the final days of the campaign, McCain is hammering Obama's tax proposals as a thinly disguised Democratic effort to redistribute wealth from rich to poor.

"There is nothing fair about driving our economy into the ground," he said. "We all suffer when that happens. And that is the problem with Senator Obama's approach to our economy. He is more interested in controlling wealth than creating it."

Democrat Obama also campaigned in Pennsylvania in the rain at an outdoor rally near Philadelphia.

民主党候选人奥巴马冒雨出席在宾夕法尼亚州的费城附近举行的露天大会。

At each stop, Obama urges his supporters to get out and vote early if they can, warning against the complacency of enjoying a lead in the polls.

奥巴马在竞选旅程上每作一次停留都会敦促他的支持者尽可能及早投票，并要求大家不要由于民调中的领先地位而骄傲自满。

"And that is why in this last week that we cannot afford to slow down or to sit back or to let up, whether it is rain or sleet or snow," he said. "We are going to go out and we are going to vote because there is too much at stake!"

他说：“那就是为什么我们在这最后一周不论下雨、下雪珠甚至是下雪，都不能懈怠、放松或听其自然。我们一定要出来、我们一定要前去投票，因为那确实至关重要。”

Obama was quick to fire back at McCain over taxes, predicting corporations and the wealthy would benefit under McCain's tax plan.

As Obama makes his final argument to voters this week, he emphasizes the themes of change and unity. But Obama never misses an opportunity to try to tie Senator McCain to the economic record of the Bush administration.

"John McCain has ridden shotgun [offered protection] as George Bush has driven our economy towards a cliff, and now he wants to take the wheel and step on the gas," he said. "They are trying to throw everything at me in these last seven days. But you know what? It is not going to work. Not this time. Not now. Because the fact that all of you are here today shows how badly you want change, shows how committed you are!"

Recent polls give Obama a lead in Pennsylvania of between eight and 13 points.

在最近的民调中，奥巴马在宾夕法尼亚的领先幅度达8到13个百分点。

Political experts say McCain is likely to fare better in trying to win traditional Republican states that are surprisingly competitive this year, states like Virginia, North Carolina, and Indiana.

政治学专家说，麦凯恩很可能在争取那些一贯倾向于共和党的州方面成绩良好，可是今年这些州都出人意料地成为竞争激烈的地方，例如维吉尼亚州、北卡罗来纳州和印第安纳州。

In the final week of the campaign, Obama appears to have a huge edge over McCain in the areas of fundraising, television ads, and organization.

Stephen Hess is a presidential scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "Almost a flawless campaign in terms of raising money and having troops [staff and volunteers] on the ground in a sense, he is just overwhelming his opposition," he said.

Both candidates are focused on a relatively small handful of states that are competitive for both campaigns and hold the balance of votes needed for the winning candidate to accumulate the 270 electoral votes necessary to win the White House next Tuesday.

两位候选人都把焦点集中在为数不多的几个州上，这些是双方竞争激烈的州。同时，下星期二赢得大选胜利的候选人必需得到270张选举人的选票，而这些州持有他们还需要的票数。