Presidential contender Barack Obama won the endorsement of a former rival Tuesday in his battle with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party nomination. Obama also got some good news in national polls as he and Clinton prepare for a debate later Tuesday in Cleveland, Ohio.

美国总统参选人奥巴马正在同希拉里.克林顿角逐，争取成为民主党提名的候选人，奥巴马星期二赢得了一位前竞争对手的支持。就在奥巴马和克林顿都在为星期二晚些时候在俄亥俄州克利夫兰举行的辩论作准备时，奥巴马又在全国民意调查中取得了好成绩。

Obama was endorsed by Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut. Dodd pulled out of the presidential race shortly after a poor showing in the Iowa caucuses in early January.

奥巴马得到了康涅狄克州参议员多德的支持。多德在今年1月初爱奥华州的党内预选中表现不佳，在那之后不久他就退出了总统竞选。

"I believe Barack Obama has the experience, the ability, the vision to lead this country and to make a difference for us, both at home and abroad, a significant difference. The hour is getting late and that opportunity is not going to last forever," he said.

多德说：“我相信，奥巴马具备领导美国的经验、能力和远见，他能在国内和国际事务上改变现状，实现很大的转变。时间紧迫，这个机会不会永远停留在那里。”

Dodd endorsed Obama at a news conference in Cleveland where Obama is campaigning one week before crucial primaries in Ohio and Texas that could be decisive in the battle for the party nomination.

多德在克利夫兰的一个新闻发布会上宣布支持奥巴马。奥巴马正在克利夫兰进行竞选活动，一周以后，俄亥俄州和德克萨斯州将举行重要的初选，这些初选对两党参选人的竞争可能具有决定性意义。

Two new national public opinion polls show Obama has moved into a healthy lead over Clinton. A New York Times/CBS News poll has Obama out in front by a margin of 54 to 38 percent. Another survey by USA Today and the Gallup organization shows Obama leading Clinton 51 to 39 percent.

两项新的全国民意调查结果显示，奥巴马以稳定优势领先克林顿。一项由纽约时报和哥伦比亚广播公司新闻部进行的民意调查发现，奥巴马的支持率是54%，领先于支持率仅为38%的克林顿。另一项由今日美国报和盖洛普民调机构进行的民意调查发现，奥巴马领先于克林顿，两人的支持率分别为51%和39%。

Obama says he remains focused on the upcoming primaries in Texas and Ohio on March 4. But he is also looking ahead to a possible general election match-up with the presumed Republican candidate, Senator John McCain of Arizona.

奥巴马说，目前竞选的焦点依然是3月4号德克萨斯州和俄亥俄州的初选。但是，他也把目光放在11月的总统大选上，到时他可能会同共和党候选人、亚利桑那州参议员麦凯恩进行对决。

"John and I are going to have a big set of disagreements and we are going to have a vigorous debate, because I think that he has tied himself to a set of policies that are not good for America and are policies that I intend to reverse when I am president of the United States," he said.

他说：“麦凯恩和我将在许多问题上有不同观点，我们将进行一场激烈的辩论，因为我认为他依然坚持一些对美国不利的政策，而这些政策正是我成为美国总统后想改变的。”

Clinton is hoping to stop Obama's momentum in Texas and Ohio. Clinton leads in the latest polls in Ohio and is about even with Obama in Texas.

希拉里.克林顿希望能在德克萨斯州和俄亥俄州挫一挫奥巴马的锐气。最新的民意调查显示，克林顿在俄亥俄州领先于奥巴马，而在德克萨斯州两人的支持率基本持平。

Clinton has been touting her foreign policy experience as an asset in recent campaign rallies and speeches.

克林顿参议员还在最近的选举集会和演讲中推销自己的一个强项，即在外交政策方面的经验。

"The American people do not have to guess whether I understand the issues or whether I would need a foreign policy instruction manual to guide me through a crisis, or whether I would have to rely on advisers to introduce me to global affairs," she said.

她说：“美国人民不必猜测我是否理解某项议题，或者我是否需要一本外交政策指导说明来引导我化解一场危机，或者我是否必须依赖我的顾问来向我介绍全球事务。”

Both campaigns are trading accusations over a photograph circulating on the Internet that shows Obama in traditional African garb during a visit to Kenya in 2006. The Obama camp accused the Clinton campaign of circulating the photo as part of a smear campaign, a charge the Clinton campaign denied.

In the Republican race, McCain continues to lead former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee in both Texas and Ohio. A McCain sweep of the upcoming primaries on March 4 would move him to within striking distance of securing the 1,191 delegates needed to clinch the Republican nomination.

在共和党方面，麦凯恩在德克萨斯州和俄亥俄州都继续领先于前阿肯色州州长哈克比。如果麦凯恩在3月4号的两场初选中大胜，那么，成为共和党提名人所需的1191张代表票对他来说将是垂手可得。

McCain told reporters during a campaign stop in Ohio that his chances of winning the election in November could hinge on his ability to convince Americans to stay the course in Iraq.

"I believed this new strategy would succeed in Iraq, not because I am the smartest guy in the world, but because I studied and I have had 20 years of experience in every major national security challenge this nation has faced," he said.

In the latest general election match-ups in the USA Today-Gallup poll, Obama defeated McCain by a margin of 49 to 45 percent, while McCain led Clinton by 49 to 47 percent.

在今日美国报和盖洛普民调机构进行的最新大选民意调查中，奥巴马战胜了麦凯恩，两人的支持率分别是49%和45%，而麦凯恩领先于希拉里.克林顿，两人的支持率分别是49%和47%。