McCain, Obama Debate Economic Recovery
麦凯恩与奥巴马激辩经济复苏政策

　
Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain and Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama battled over economic recovery policies during the second presidential debate ahead of the November election.

在11月4号举行美国总统大选之前的第二场总统候选人辩论里，共和党总统候选人麦凯恩和民主党总统候选人奥巴马互相为经济复苏政策争辩。

For 90 minutes, Senator McCain and Senator Obama responded to questions from a group of undecided voters at Belmont University in Nashville. The so called "town hall" forum gave voters a chance to voice their concerns and ask the U.S. presidential candidates about the specific policies and positions they would bring to the White House, if elected in November.

在90分钟时间里，麦凯恩参议员和奥巴马参议员在纳什维尔贝尔蒙大学，分别就一群还没有决定投票意向的选民所提出的问题做出答复。这种所谓市民大会式形式的辩论，使选民有机会表达他们的关切，并询问总统候选人一旦当选入主白宫，将带来什么样的政策和立场。

The debate was moderated by journalist Tom Brokaw, who helped select the questions from voters in the audience and voters on the Internet.

这场辩论是由老牌新闻工作者汤姆.布罗考主持，他协助从现场观众和网民当中挑选问题。

Many of the questions focused on how the candidates would respond to the current economic crisis and combat rising unemployment and falling home prices.

许多问题集中在候选人将如何回应目前的经济危机，以及如何对抗日增的失业率和下跌的房价。

Senator Obama said one of his first priorities would be to address financial problems in key banks and insurance companies, as well as problems facing average Americans.

奥巴马参议员说，他的优先项目之一，就是处理主要银行和保险公司的财务问题，以及一般美国人民所面对的问题。

"The middle class need a rescue package. That means tax cuts for the middle class. That means help for home owners, so they can stay in their homes," he said.

奥巴马参议员说：“中产阶层需要一整套挽救计划。这意味著给中产阶层减税。这也意味著帮助房屋拥有者，以便他们能够保住自己的住屋。”

Senator McCain said falling real estate prices are affecting many Americans, and he proposed a government program to buy up bad home loans to boost the market.

麦凯恩参议员说，房地产价格下跌影响到许多美国人，他建议制订一项政府计划来购买坏的房屋贷款，刺激市场。

"We all know, friends, until we stabilize home values in America, we are never going to start turning around and creating jobs and fixing our economy. We have to give some trust and confidence back to America," McCain said.

他说：“朋友们，我们都知道，在我们稳定美国的房价以前，我们不可能开始转变，创造工作机会，修补我们的经济。我们必须恢复美国人的信用和信任。”

Both candidates cited the toll that rising energy prices have had on the economy, and stressed the need for alternatives to foreign oil.

两位候选人都指出，油价的上涨对美国经济造成影响，都强调需要其他办法取代外国石油。

McCain said a crucial part of stimulating the economy is reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil supplies. "Drilling offshore and [building] nuclear power [plants] are two vital elements of that. I have been supporting those, and I know how to fix this economy and eliminate our dependence on foreign oil and stop sending $700 billion a year overseas," he said.

麦凯恩参议员说，刺激经济的一个主要办法，是减少国家对外国石油的依赖。他说：“在近海采油和兴建核电厂是两个主要部分。我一直支持这两项作法，而且我知道如何修补经济，消除我们对外国石油的依赖，终止我们每年花费7千亿美元到国外买油。”

Senator Obama said he would try to stimulate new technologies and energy solutions in the United States to eliminate the need for foreign oil. "That is why I have called for an investment of $15 billion a year over 10 years. Our goal should be in 10 years we are free of Middle Eastern oil. And we can do it," he said.

参议员奥巴马说，他将试图刺激开发新的技术和替代能源，来消除对外国石油的依赖。他说：“这也就是我为什么要求在未来10年里，每年在这件事情上投资150亿美元的缘故。我们的目标是在10年里，我们可以摆脱对中东石油的依赖。而我们可以做到这点。”

Obama defended against claims by McCain that he would raise taxes in order to pay for new government programs. He stressed that most Americans will see taxes go down if he is elected president.

对于麦凯恩所说奥巴马将加税来支付新的政府计划，奥巴马提出反驳。奥巴马强调，如果他当选总统，大部分美国人会发现赋税其实会比过去减少。

"I want to provide a tax cut for 95 percent of Americans. If you make less than a quarter million dollars a year, you will not see a single dime of your taxes go up," Obama said.

奥巴马说：“我计划为百分之95的美国人减税。如果你一年收入不到25万美元，你的缴税绝不会增加一分一毫。”

Obama criticized McCain for a proposal to freeze government spending, saying it would hurt many social programs. But McCain said a tough spending limit is needed to get the economy back under control. "We will have to have an across the board freeze. Some of those programs may not grow as much as we would like them to. But we can establish priorities with full transparency," McCain said.

奥巴马还批评麦凯恩参议员建议冻结政府开支。奥巴马指出，这种作法将损害许多社会福利计划。但是麦凯恩表示，为了将经济导回正轨，严厉的支出限制是必需的。他说：“我们必须全面冻结。有些计划的成长可能不是我们所希望的那么多。但是我们可以在完全透明的情况下建立优先顺序。”

Both candidates agreed that fixing the current economic crisis is vital to addressing other concerns about the future of social security and other government programs in the future.

两位候选人都同意，修补目前的经济危机，对社会保障计划以及其他政府项目的未来，都至关重要。

The latest opinion polls show Senator Obama is leading Senator McCain as the candidates enter the final month of campaigning before the vote on November 4.

最新的民意测验显示，在接近11月4号大选投票日的最后一个月期间，奥巴马的民调领先麦凯恩。