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　　The war in Iraq continues to be a sharp point of difference between the two presumptive U.S. presidential nominees¹, Democrat² Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.
在即将成为美国总统候选人的美国民主党的巴拉克.奥巴马和共和党的约翰.麦凯恩之间，伊拉克战争仍然是突出的分歧。各界一直在关注在竞选活动中这两个人之间的辩论。
Campaigning in New Jersey³, Senator McCain said voters in this election face a stark⁴ choice on the war in Iraq.
参议员麦凯恩在新泽西州竞选时说，选民在今年总统选举中将不得不在伊拉克问题上作出明确选择。
McCain says the United States is winning in Iraq, and he strongly opposes Senator Obama's plan to begin troop withdrawals⁵ shortly after taking office.
麦凯恩说，美国正在伊拉克赢得胜利，他强烈反对奥巴马参议员计划在上台后不久就从伊拉克撤军。
"He said the surge could not work and would not work, and to this day, to this very day, Senator Obama refuses to acknowledge that we are winning in Iraq," he said. "He refuses. He called it spin. Is General Petraeus spinning the American people? I do not think so. I do not think so."
麦凯恩说：“他说增兵计划不起作用，也不会起作用。到今天为止，直到今天，奥巴马参议员还拒绝承认我们正在伊拉克赢得胜利。他拒绝承认。他把这叫‘忽悠’。彼德雷乌斯将军在‘忽悠’美国人民吗？我认为不是这样，我不这样认为。”
Obama was on the campaign trail Friday in Ohio, usually a key swing state in presidential elections.
奥巴马星期五在俄亥俄州竞选。这个很关键的州在总统选举中经常是一个“左右摇摆的州”。
Obama restated his opposition⁶ to the war in Iraq after a voter asked him why the U.S. image abroad has sharply declined in recent years.
当一位选民问奥巴马，为什么最近几年美国在国外的形像急剧恶化时，奥巴马重申自己反对伊拉克战争。
"Everybody supported us after 9/11. Everybody supported us going into Afghanistan. Right? It was not until we decided⁷ to go into Iraq, without listening to other countries who warned us that it might be a mistake, and George Bush basically ignored world opinion and the facts that there was no connection between 9/11 and Iraq, that is when world opinion plummeted," he said.
他说：“9/11恐怖袭击后，大家都支持我们。大家都支持我们出兵阿富汗，对不对？直到我们出兵伊拉克，大家才不支持我们。当时别的国家警告我们说，这可能是个错误，我们不听。布什基本上是对全世界的意见置之不理，对9/11事件和伊拉克没有联系这个事实视若罔闻。正是在那个时候，世界舆论急剧下跌。”
The latest campaign jabs on Iraq come at the end of a week of back and forth⁸ volleys on the war, which is likely to be a key issue in the November election, along with the weakening U.S. economy.
一个星期以来，这两个人在伊拉克问题上一直相互攻击，这次是最新的一次。伊拉克问题，以及美国正在衰退的经济很可能成为11月总统选举的重要问题，很可能成为今年总统选举辩论的焦点。
"McCain is betting that the American people will be persuaded, ultimately, that no matter how angry they seem to be about what is going on in Iraq, we cannot afford to lose," said Tom DeFrank of the New York Daily News and a frequent guest on VOA's Issues in the News program. "And, I think that Obama is taking the position that we will not lose, but we do not need to have as many troops there as we do at the moment, and with three-quarters of the American people opposed to the war in Iraq, I think that is an issue that works for Obama better than it does for McCain."
Iraq and the economy will likely be the focus of presidential debates later this year, but how many debates are held remains⁹ an open question.
但是目前还不太清楚两个人会举行几场辩论。
In recent elections, the two major party contenders have taken part in three nationally televised debates, while their vice¹⁰ presidential running mates debate once.
在前几次总统选举中，这两个主要政党的总统候选人通常进行三次全国范围的电视辩论，他们的副总统竞选夥伴要进行一次辩论。
Senator McCain has proposed an additional series of 10 town hall meetings in which he and Senator Obama would appear together to answer questions from voters.
麦凯恩参议员建议双方在上述基础上再增加10次市政会议的碰面机会。届时，他和奥巴马参议员共同出席，回答选民的提问。
But the Obama campaign has rejected that idea. An Obama spokesman said the presumed Democratic candidate would be willing to take part in one town hall event with McCain and one foreign policy debate, in addition to the three nationally televised debates scheduled between late September and mid-October.
但是奥巴马参议员的竞选班底拒绝了这个意见。奥巴马的一位发言人说，除了安排在9月底和10月中旬的三次全国电视辩论外，奥巴马愿意与麦凯恩共同出席一次市政会议，并进行一次外交政策辩论。