奧巴馬競選團隊抨擊羅姆尼競選搭檔
The Obama campaign has labelled Paul Ryan a "rightwing ideologue", elevating Mitt Romney's choice of running-mate into a central figure in the campaign and cementing the November election as a deeply partisan contest.
巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)的競選團隊稱米特•羅姆尼(Mitt Romney)的競選搭檔保羅•瑞安(Paul Ryan，上圖左)爲"右翼狂熱分子"。這令瑞安成爲大選的核心人物，並加大了11月大選兩黨勢不兩立的意味。Mr Romney, the Republican candidate, launched a bus tour with the 42-year-old Wisconsin congressman after Mr Ryan's unveiling as vice-presidential pick in front of a battleship in Virginia on Saturday.
上週六，共和黨總統候選人羅姆尼在弗吉尼亞州一艘戰艦前宣佈，現年42歲的威斯康星州衆議員瑞安爲副總統候選人。隨後，羅姆尼啓動了巴士競選之旅，瑞安與之同行。Barack Obama returns to the campaign trail today in Iowa, where he will have his first chance to take on a united Republican ticket after more than a year of jousting with Mr Romney and other conservative opponents.
奧巴馬今天回到艾奧瓦州開始繼續拉票，這將是他首次迎戰一位穩獲共和黨總統候選人提名的對手。此前，羅姆尼和其他共和黨總統候選人提名競爭者進行了一年多的角逐。
Mr Obama's relentless barrage of negative attacks against Mr Romney's business background and low personal tax rates has given him a slight edge in public polls, especially in battleground states like Ohio.
奧巴馬對羅姆尼的從商背景和避稅行爲進行了一連串無情攻擊，從而在民調中取得微弱優勢，特別是在俄亥俄州等關鍵戰場。But both camps enter the final months of the campaign, and their respective conventions in late August and early September, agreeing that the race is up for grabs for both candidates.
但在競選進入最後幾個月的衝刺階段，兩黨代表大會分別在8月底和9月初召開之際，兩黨在一件事上看法一致，那就是兩位候選人將展開勢均力敵的較量。In their opening joint appearance in Virginia and North Carolina, Mr Romney and Mr Ryan presented their plan to sharply cut taxes and spending, and cap costs on government outlays on elderly people's healthcare (Medicare) as a choice between two visions.
在維吉尼亞州和北卡羅來納州共同亮相時，羅姆尼和瑞安宣佈了他們的計劃：大幅削減稅收和支出，限制政府在老年人醫保(Medicare)方面的支出，從而提供了兩種願景的選擇。But the Obama campaign sees Mr Ryan's budgets, passed twice in the last two years by the Republican House of Representatives, as a powerful platform to illustrate how they say conservatives are tilting the playing field to benefit the wealthy.
但奧巴馬的競選團隊認爲，瑞安的預算計劃有力地證明了他們的說法：共和黨正在讓遊戲規則變得有利於富人。在過去兩年中，瑞安的預算案兩次在共和黨控制的衆議院獲得通過。
