美國總統大選：奧巴馬羅姆尼首場辯論
當地時間10月3日晚9時(北京時間4日早9時)，美國2012總統大選首場辯論在科羅拉多州的丹佛大學舉行，目前辯論仍在進行中，首場辯論將圍繞經濟和國內政策爲主題。
DENVER, the United States, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney on Wednesday began their first presidential debate at Denver University in Denver, Colorado, with the debate focusing on economy and domestic issues.
丹佛，美國，10月3日（新華網）——美國總統巴拉克·奧巴馬和他的共和黨對手羅姆尼在週三在丹佛大學開始了他們的首場大選辯論，辯論主題爲經濟和國內政策。
The debate, hosted by veteran PBS journalist Jim Lehrer, started off with a question to Obama on how he would create jobs. Obama answered it for two minutes, then Romney took his turn.
本場辯論由PBS的老牌記者吉姆·賴樂主持，開場向奧巴馬提出一個問題，問他如何創造工作機會，奧巴馬回答了2分鐘，然後羅姆尼繼續。
The debate is to run for 90 minutes.
本場辯論將持續90分鐘。
Economy is the most important topic, as it takes up half of the time.
經濟問題是最重要的話題，有半場討論都集中在經濟問題上。
Prior to the debate, both campaigns had said it would give the candidates an opportunity to speak directly to voters without the filter of the media.
辯論之前，雙方都表示會給候選人不給媒體過濾直接跟選民對話的機會。
The debate has higher stakes for Romney, as he is trailing the president in polls. Ben Ginsberg, a top Romney campaign aide, said Wednesday morning at a Denver briefing that the former Massachusetts governor will try to showcase his contrast with Obama in their visions for America for the next four years.
本次大選對羅姆尼來說風險很大，大選民調他落後奧巴馬。本·金斯伯格，羅姆尼陣營高級顧問週三早晨在丹佛的簡報會中說，這位前馬薩諸塞州州長將展現出對未來四年他和奧巴馬的不同見解。
There is some unfavorable buzz against the Obama campaign heading into the debate. Vice President Joe Biden, a top Obama surrogate, said Tuesday that the middle class had been "buried" during the past four years, a statement that Republicans immediately seized upon as an unwitting indictment of the Obama presidency.
辯論開始前，還有一些對奧巴馬不太有利的風聲。副總統喬·拜登，奧巴馬的最高代理人，週二說中產階級在過去四年遭“埋葬”，這一說法馬上被共產黨人抓住說奧巴馬總統任期內經濟衰敗。
A 2007 videotape of then-Senator Obama, which showed him making comments perceived as "racially charged," also surfaced Tuesday night, rocketing through conservative media outlets.
一份2007年的視頻顯示，當時的參議員奧巴馬的評論帶有“種族色彩”，這段視頻也在週二晚上浮出水面，在保守派媒體上迅速擴散。
However, Obama is still going into the debate with a clear advantage in polls, and about two-thirds of the voters believe Obama will win the debate.
然而，奧巴馬仍然帶着明顯的民調優勢參加辯論，約有三分之二的選民認爲奧巴馬將贏得這場辯論。
But Obama's lead in the presidential race is being challenged, as most recent polls show Romney is closing the gap somewhat.
不過，奧巴馬在總統大選中的領先地位正在被挑戰，近期的大部分民調顯示，羅姆尼正在縮小這一差距。
