In U.S. presidential politics, the focus is on Republican White House contender Herman Cain. Cain says he is reassessing his campaign in the wake of allegations of an extramarital affair, which Cain denies. Meanwhile, the Republican field is looking more like a showdown between former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
在竞选美国总统的政治话题中，目前人们都把焦点集中在共和党总统竞选人赫尔曼.凯恩身上。凯恩在被指责有婚外情以后，尽管坚决否认，但仍表示会重新评估自己参选的实力。与此同时，前美国国会众议院议长纽特.金里奇和前麻萨诸塞州州长米特.罗姆尼两人看来正在进行一场较量。
A day after Cain told aides that he is reassessing his presidential bid, the Georgia businessman appeared defiant at a campaign stop in the Midwestern state of Ohio.
尽管凯恩一天前对其竞选助手说，他将重新评估自己竞选总统的势头，但这位乔治亚州的商人来到中西部俄亥俄州开展竞选活动时仍显得劲头十足。
“The voice of the people is more powerful than the voice of the media," said Cain.
他说：“民众的声音比媒体的作用更大。”
Cain is denying allegations of an extramarital affair with Ginger White, who told ABC television's Good Morning America program that she was involved with Cain on and off during a 13-year period.
凯恩否认有关他和怀特女士发生婚外情的说法，这位女士在美国广播公司的电视节目“美国早上好”说，她和凯恩断断续续保持了13年的婚外关系。
“It was a very casual affair," said White. "I’ve received gifts and money for the last 2.5 years consistently. This was not sex for cash.”
她说：“我们之间是一种比较随意的关系，我在过去两年半时间里不断收到礼物和金钱。这并不是用金钱换取性关系。”
The allegation of an affair comes in the wake of sexual harassment allegations leveled at Cain by four women a few weeks ago, which led to a loss of support in public opinion surveys.
在怀特女士出面谈论此事几个星期前，已有四名女子接连指控凯恩进行性骚扰，造成凯恩的支持率一路下滑。
The Republican contender who is gaining at the moment is former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who leads the eight person nomination race in several national public opinion polls.
目前支持率上升的是前国会众议院议长、共和党总统竞选人金里奇，他在几次全国范围的民意调查中一直处于8位竞选人之首。
“I don’t claim to be the perfect candidate," said Gingrich. "I just claim to be a lot more conservative than Mitt Romney and a lot more electable than anybody else.”
金里奇说：“我不会声称自己是完美的总统竞选人，我只是说自己是比罗姆尼更保守的竞选人，比其他任何人都更有选举价值。”
Cain’s drop in the polls seems to have helped Gingrich, who has emerged as the main alternative to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
凯恩在民调中的失利似乎帮助了金里奇的提升，他一跃成为前麻萨诸塞州州长罗姆尼的主要竞争对手。
Romney has long been considered the frontrunner in the Republican race, and he continues to focus most of his attention on President Barack Obama, as he did at a campaign stop in the Southern state of Florida.
罗姆尼很长一段时间以来，一直被认为是共和党角逐2012总统提名人士当中，最被看好的。到目前为止，罗姆尼还是把他的主要竞选焦点集中在现任总统奥巴马身上。罗姆尼在美国南部佛罗里达州举行的一次竞选活动中说：
“President Obama is a nice guy," said Romney. "But I don’t think he understands America. I don’t think he understands our economy. I don’t think he understands the power of free people, free to choose their course in life.”
“奥巴马总统是个好人，但是，我不认为他真正彻底地了解美国是怎么回事，我不认为他真正明白我们的经济是如何运作的，同时我也不认为他真正明白自由国度里的民众，其真正的潜力在哪里。”
Political strategist Matthew Dowd, an analyst for ABC News, sees the Republican race evolving into a two-man field.
美国广播公司的新闻分析人士马修·道认为，共和党人的角逐现在基本上只剩下罗姆尼和金里奇之间的竞争了。
“I think right now that anti-Romney vote is coalesced around the former speaker," said Dowd. "I think more of these votes go to Newt Gingrich, and I think Newt Gingrich is a force that Mitt Romney has to reckon with.”
他说：“就目前来讲，我看那些反罗姆尼的选票，都集中在前众议院议长金里奇这边了。我认为，可能会有更多的选票落到金里奇那边。金里奇决不是罗姆尼能够轻易‘干掉’的对手。”
Analyst Stuart Rothenberg, publisher of The Rothenberg Political Report, says Mitt Romney’s main challenge remains winning over Republican voters who doubt he is a true conservative.
另一位政治分析人士，“罗森伯格政治动向报告”的出版人罗森伯格认为，罗姆尼面临的主要的挑战是赢得那些比较保守的共和党人的选票。那些人怀疑他是否是真正的保守派。
“The one thing that is consistent is that Mitt Romney is in the top tier, that Mitt Romney appeals to about one-quarter of all Republicans and that he has built a large, established, experienced, national presidential campaign," said Rothenberg. "Whether that will be enough to get the nomination, we don’t yet know.”
罗森伯格说：“在所有这些候选人当中，罗姆尼一向都是在前面的，他对四分之一的共和党人来说，很具有吸引力。而且他在全美国范围内，经营了一个规模相当大的、颇为富有经验的竞选团队。至于说这是不是足以让他赢得共和党的总统候选人提名，现在还很难说。”
The first test of the 2012 Republican race is less than five weeks away, when voters in the Midwestern state of Iowa hold caucus meetings on January 3 to express their preferences in the eight-candidate Republican field.
对于明年、也就是2012年美国总统大选当中共和党人之间的选战来说，不到五个星期后，就是一场激烈的竞争，也可以说是一次检验。到时候，也就是1月3号，美国中西部的爱奥华州将举行党内投票，选举出爱奥华州共和党人最欣赏的共和党候选人。 |