VOA双语新闻 ---美宾州选民将在关键的初选中投票

All eyes in the U.S. presidential election campaign are on Pennsylvania, where voters will cast ballots 1 Tuesday in the race for the Democratic Party nomination 2. Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are campaigning in the state almost non-stop.

所有关注美国总统选举的目光都集中在宾夕法尼亚州。那里的选民星期二将在争夺民主党总统候选人提名的初选中投票。奥巴马和克林顿参议员正马不停蹄地在这个州竞选。

Turn on just about any radio or television anywhere in Pennsylvania and this is what you are likely to hear:

在宾夕法尼亚州任何地方，只要打开几乎任何一台收音机或者电视就能听到奥巴马和克林顿的竞选广告。

Both Obama and Clinton are saturating 3 the state with campaign ads. Governor Edward Rendell - a former mayor of Philadelphia - says he has never seen anything like it.

曾经担任过费城市长的宾夕法尼亚州州长伦德尔说，他还从没见过这样的阵式。

Rendell, a top Clinton supporter, appeared on the CBS network news program Face the Nation. He says Obama is outspending Clinton in Pennsylvania by a margin 4 of more than three to one.

伦德尔是克林顿的一名高级别支持者。他在参加哥伦比亚广播公司新闻节目《面对全国》时说，在宾夕法尼亚州奥巴马跟克林顿的开支比例至少是三比一。

"I have always been a good money raiser and I have put a lot of money on TV in the closing weeks of my campaign," said Governor Rendell. "But I never exceeded $1.2 or $1.3 [million]. The Obama campaign: $2.9 million. You cannot go anywhere in the Philadelphia region, you cannot listen to TV for 10 minutes without seeing an ad!"

伦德尔说：“我的筹款能力一直很强，而且我在竞选最后几个星期里投了许多钱在电视上。但是，我投的绝没有超过120万美元或者130万。奥巴马的竞选活动投了290万。走到宾夕法尼亚州任何地区，看10分钟电视，你就不可能看不到竞选广告。”

The ad campaign has helped Obama cut Clinton's lead in the state from double digits 5 to about five or six percent. Senator Robert Casey - considered the most popular Democratic Party office holder 6 in the state and an Obama backer - says he will not predict what will happen when voters go to the polls on Tuesday.

广告竞选帮助奥巴马将克林顿的领先优势从两位数减少到大概5、6个百分点。凯西参议员被认为是宾夕法尼亚州最受欢迎的民主党官员。凯西参议员支持奥巴马。他说，他无法预料星期二选民前往投票时会出现什么情况。

He also appeared on Face the Nation.

"I think it is going to be an interesting night on the 22nd," said Senator Casey. "I do not think anyone knows where it will end. But I do think that from Senator Obama's perspective that he has made tremendous progress in the last six or seven weeks."

Both Rendell and Casey have put their prestige on the line in this election. Casey has been traveling across the state with Obama in the final days of the primary campaign, traveling by train from one town in eastern Pennsylvania to another.

伦德尔和凯西的威望和他们的选举倾向一致。凯西在初选竞选活动最后几天一直陪同奥巴马坐火车从宾夕法尼亚州东部一个镇接一个镇地走遍宾夕法尼亚。

At all stops, Obama has been focusing on his message of change.

每到一站，奥巴马都强调他要变革的主张。

"The choice you have right now in this Pennsylvania primary is whether to vote your hopes or your fears, whether you decide to not accept what the cynics tell you you have to settle for, but instead you decide to reach for what is possible," said Barack Obama.

他说：“在宾夕法尼亚州初选，你们现在要选的是，是投票表达你们的希望还是表达你们的担心，是否接受愤世嫉俗者要你们接受的东西，还是决定追求可能得到的东西。

Pennsylvania has the second oldest population in the nation, right behind Florida. And while the Obama campaign's focus on change has resonated with young voters, it has fallen flat with many of their grandparents.

宾夕法尼亚州人口的平均年龄在全国排名第二，仅次于佛罗里达州。奥巴马以变革为竞选重点尽管引起年轻选民共鸣，却不能吸引许多老年人。

Seniors remain a strong voting bloc 7 in the state, and they are more attracted to experience and stability. At her campaign stops in the Pittsburgh area, Clinton is telling voters that they have to fill the most important job in the country, and experience counts.

老年人仍然是宾夕法尼亚州一个很强的投票群体。克林顿在匹兹堡竞选所到之处对选民说，他们要填补国家最重要的职位。而且，重要的是看经验。

"Who would you hire to restore our reputation and leadership in the world," asked Hillary Clinton. "And who would you hire to end the war in Iraq and win the war in Afghanistan?"

她说：“你们将用谁来恢复我们在世界上的声望和领导力？你们将用谁来结束伊拉克战争，赢得阿富汗战争？”

Pennsylvania voters originally thought their primary might be an afterthought in the campaign. It is one of the last of the big populous 8 states to vote in the selection process, coming months after the February primaries that, at one point, were expected to decide the Democratic nominee 9.

宾夕法尼亚州选民原来以为自己州的初选可能是竞选活动的尾声。这个州是2月份初选几个月以来选举过程中的最后几个人口众多的大州之一。就某种意义而言，2月份的初选本来有望决出民主党的提名人。

Now Pennsylvanians find they are at the center of a protracted 10 fight for the party nomination. And there are signs this state will also be a big battle ground months from now in the general election campaign. Not only are Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton running ads here, but so too is the presumptive Republican nominee, Senator John McCain.