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Senator Barack Obama is hoping for a boost in his quest for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination¹ after getting the endorsement² of one of the party's elder statesmen, Senator Ted³ Kennedy of Massachusetts.

美国联邦参议员奥巴马希望民主党资深议员、麻萨诸塞州参议员泰德.肯尼迪对他本人的支持能够推动他获得民主党总统候选人提名。

Political experts are divided about the impact of political endorsements⁴.

政治专家对政治支持的影响持不同意见。

But Obama supporters are ecstatic in the wake of Ted Kennedy's endorsement on Monday and his statement that Senator Obama would be ready on day-one to assume the presidency⁵ if elected.

但是泰德.肯尼迪星期一作出支持奥巴马的决定以及他作出的奥巴马参议员一旦当选就能胜任的声明让奥巴马的支持者欣喜万分。

"He is a leader who sees the world clearly without being cynical," he said.

泰德.肯尼迪说，“奥巴马是一个洞察世界又不愤世嫉俗的领导者。”

Kennedy remains⁶ a revered⁷ figure in Democratic Party politics. He is one of the last links to the so-called Age of Camelot when his brother, John F. Kennedy, was in the White House and inspired a generation of Democrats⁸ with his message of change and commitment to government service.

肯尼迪仍然是民主党政治中受人尊敬的人物。他是最后一个同所谓的卡默洛时代有关的人，在那个时代，他的哥哥约翰.肯尼迪在白宫作出的变革和对政府工作的承诺激励了一代民主党人。

In receiving the endorsement, Obama acknowledged the Kennedy legacy⁹ and promised to carry on the ideals embodied¹⁰ by President Kennedy.

奥巴马在得到肯尼迪的支持后肯定了肯尼迪家族遗留下来的精神，并且许诺继承和发扬以肯尼迪总统为代表的那些理想。

"I know what your support means. I know the cherished place the Kennedy family holds in the hearts of the American people," he said.

奥巴马说：“我知道您的支持意味着什么。我知道肯尼迪家族在美国人民心中备受尊崇的地位。”

Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President Kennedy, also endorsed¹¹ Obama, as did Ted Kennedy's son, Congressman¹² Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island.

肯尼迪总统的女儿卡罗琳.肯尼迪以及泰德.肯尼迪的儿子、罗德岛参议员帕特里克.肯尼迪也表示支持奥巴马。

But like Democrats in general, the Kennedy family is split between supporters of Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton.

但是就像在民主党党内一样，肯尼迪家族在支持奥巴马和克林顿参议员的问题上分成了两派。

Several children of the late Senator Robert Kennedy are supporting Clinton, including Robert Kennedy, Jr.

已故参议员罗伯特.肯尼迪的几个子女支持克林顿参议员，其中包括小罗伯特.肯尼迪。

"Teddy and Caroline have made their judgment¹³ and I absolutely respect those judgments¹⁴. I feel just as strongly about my reasons for supporting Hillary Clinton," he said.

小罗伯特.肯尼迪说：“泰迪和卡罗琳作出了他们的判断，我完全尊重这些判断。我支持克林顿参议员也有同样强有力的原因。”

Some veteran Democrats believe the Kennedy endorsement could help Obama as he and Clinton prepare to compete in the 22 Democratic contests on February 5 when more than half of the party's nominating delegates will be at stake.

一些民主党资深人士认为肯尼迪对奥巴马的支持将对奥巴马准备同希拉里在2月5号的竞争有所帮助，2月5号奥巴马和希拉里将在22个州进行竞争，大约一半的党内提名代表将在那天决出。

"If Ted Kennedy is able to convey to Democratic voters that Barack Obama has that special something that he saw in his brother John Kennedy and his brother Robert Kennedy, that is a powerful signal to send to Democrats," said longtime Democratic pollster Geoffrey Garin.

长期从事民意测验工作的民主党人盖林说：“如果泰德.肯尼迪能够向民主党选民传递这样一个信息：说他从奥巴马身上看到了他自己的哥哥约翰.肯尼迪和罗伯特.肯尼迪拥有的某种特殊的东西，这就是向民主党人发出的一个强有力的信号。”

The Kennedy endorsement came days after Obama's landslide¹⁵ win in the South Carolina primary where he got strong support from African-American voters, one of the most loyal constituencies within the Democratic Party.

肯尼迪参议员声明支持奥巴马的几天前，奥巴马在南卡罗来纳州的初选中赢得了压倒性胜利，他在那里得到了非洲裔选民的有力支持，南卡罗来纳州是民主党内最忠诚的票仓之一。

Some African-American leaders criticized the role played by former President Bill Clinton in his wife's campaign, as he raised questions about Obama's record and experience.

在前总统比尔.克林顿质疑奥巴马的从政记录和阅历时，一些非洲裔领导人批评克林顿在他妻子的竞选活动中所发挥的作用。

Political analyst¹⁶ Michael Barone argues that offending African-American voters could hurt the Democrats in the November general election.

政治分析人士巴龙争辩说，冒犯非洲裔选民可能会在11月的大选中伤害民主党人。

"If Hillary Clinton win the Democratic nomination by visibly disrespecting an important Democratic core constituency, I think that is a political liability for the Democratic Party in November," he said.

巴龙说：“如果希拉里.克林顿以明显的不尊重民主党核心票仓的选民的方式获得民主党总统候选人提名，我认为，那将使民主党人在11月的选举中在政治上丢分。”

But Bill Clinton remains popular with Democrats, and he remains active on the campaign trail on behalf of his wife, as he was Tuesday in New Jersey¹⁷, which holds a primary on February 5.

但是，星期二，比尔.克林顿在新泽西州仍然受民主党人的欢迎，并且继续活跃地为妻子助选。新泽西州将在2月5号举行初选。

"These are tough, complicated times, but we can bring America back. We have done it before and she [Hillary] will lead us in doing in again in rebuilding the middle class life," he said.

克林顿说：“现在是艰难和复杂的时期，但是我们能够让美国东山再起。以前，我们曾经这样做过，现在，希拉里将领导我们再次这样做，以重建中产阶级的生活。”

The schedule of presidential primaries and caucuses¹⁸ for both parties extends into early June, and many analysts¹⁹ now believe the Democratic Party race will not be settled for some time, perhaps not even until the Democratic Party's nominating convention in Denver, Colorado in late August.

共和民主两党的总统候选人的初选和党内预选的时间安排将延续到6月初，现在，许多分析人士认为，民主党内总统候选人的竞选也许还需要一段时间才能完成，甚至可能到8月底在科罗拉多州丹佛召开的民主党总统候选人提名大会时才能完成。

"We could easily go, not only through Super Tuesday and the Mid-Atlantic primaries and through the March contests, but we might even see people looking ahead to Pennsylvania on April 22," said Norman Ornstein, a political expert at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.

美国华盛顿企业研究所的政治专家奥斯坦因说：“他们两人的竞争很可能不仅超过超级星期二，而且超过大西洋中部各州的初选以及3月的竞选，甚至可能持续到宾夕法尼亚州4月22号的初选。”

The Republican Party presidential contenders will also face a major test on February 5, the so-called Super Tuesday, when 21 states hold nominating primaries or caucuses. The Republicans hold their convention in early September in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

共和党总统候选人的竞争者也将在2月5号所谓的超级星期二面临重大考验，届时，21个州将举行初选或者党内预选。共和党将于9月初在明尼苏达州的圣.保罗举行全国党代表大会。