Tone of US Presidential Race Continues to Sharpen
美国总统竞选言辞日益尖锐

The tone of the rhetoric in the U.S. presidential campaign is sharpening with less than a week to go until Election Day. Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are focused on the economy and each other in the final days of the campaign.

离美国选举日已不到一个星期了，美国总统竞选中发表的言辞日益尖锐。民主党人奥巴马和共和党人麦凯恩在最后几天的竞选中，把焦点集中在经济问题和对方身上。

Senator McCain is focused on winning several states that usually back Republican presidential candidates.

麦凯恩参议员将重点放在赢得几个通常支持共和党候选人的州上。

"And we need to win Florida. On November 4th, we've got to win the state of Florida, my friends," said McCain.

麦凯恩说：“我们要赢得佛罗里达州。我的朋友们，在11月4号，我们务必赢得佛罗里达州。”

President Bush carried Florida in both of his election victories. But the latest public opinion polls give Senator Obama a narrow lead over McCain.

布什总统在两次选举胜利中都赢得了佛罗里达州。但是在最新的民意调查中，奥巴马略微领先于麦凯恩。

McCain now spends much of his time attacking Obama's tax plan, which would phase out the Bush tax cuts for upper income Americans.

麦凯恩现在大部分时间在攻击奥巴马的税收计划，这项计划逐步停止布什给收人较高的美国人的减税计划。

McCain says Obama's real objective is redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor.

麦凯恩说，奥巴马的真正目标是把富人的财富分配给穷人。

"This is the fundamental difference between Senator Obama and me. He thinks taxes are too low and I think that spending is too high," he said.

麦凯恩说：“这是奥巴马参议员和我之间的根本区别。他认为税率太低，我认为开支过高。”

On Wednesday, Barack Obama campaigned in North Carolina, a state that last supported a Democratic presidential candidate in 1976.

星期三，奥巴马在北卡罗来纳竞选，这个州上次还是在1976年支持民主党总统候选人的。

"Six days," said Obama. "After decades of broken politics in Washington, eight years of failed policies from George Bush, and 21 months of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California, we are six days away from changing America!"

奥巴马说：“就剩6天了。经过了华盛顿几十年来的无效政治，乔治.布什8年来的失败政策之后，这21个月的竞选把我们从缅因州的巨石海岸带到充满阳光的加利福尼亚州，我们离改变美国的时刻就差6天时间了。”

Some political experts believe that McCain's attacks on Obama's tax plan may be narrowing Obama's lead in the polls.

一些政治问题专家认为，麦凯恩对奥巴马税收计划的攻击可能缩小奥巴马在民调中的领先优势。

Obama is urging supporters not to be overconfident in the closing days of the campaign. He is also giving a sharper response to McCain's attacks.

奥巴马呼吁支持者不要在竞选最后几天过于自信。他还对麦凯恩的批评作出更加尖锐的回应。

"Lately, he's called me a socialist," said Obama. "I don't know what's next. By the end of the week, he will be accusing me of being a secret communist because I shared my toys in kindergarten."

The latest national public opinion surveys put Obama ahead of McCain by an average of six points, down slightly from earlier in the week. But new polls give Obama a significant lead in key states like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Colorado. Obama is also slightly ahead or tied in normally strong Republican states like Florida and North Carolina.

最新的全国民意调查认为，奥巴马平均领先麦凯恩6个百分点，比这个星期早些时候略微下降。但是新的民调显示，奥巴马在重要的州，比如宾夕法尼亚州、俄亥俄州和科罗拉多州，明显领先。在通常是共和党势力强大的州，比如佛罗里达和北卡罗来纳，奥巴马也略微领先或者和麦凯恩持平。

The presidential race is decided by a state-by-state tally of electoral votes. The winning candidate must win at least 270 electoral votes out of a total of 538.

总统竞选按各州选举人票的票数决定。获胜的候选人必须赢得538张总票数中的至少270张。

Some Republicans have adopted a gloomy outlook as they look ahead to Election Night next Tuesday.

Scot Faulkner worked for former President Ronald Reagan and for former Republican House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich.

"It is going to be a rough night," he said. "Right now, the polls are tightening. But clearly, McCain is behind. Clearly, most Republican incumbents in the Senate that are in vulnerable seats are also trailing. A lot of Republicans in the House [of Representatives] are in vulnerable positions as well. So unless some major changes happen in terms of voter turnout or in terms of a further tightening of the race, it is going to be a long night for Republicans."

Republicans are bracing for possible losses in both the Senate and House in Tuesday's national elections.