拜登宣布参选美国总统  民主党内已有19个竞争对手 Former Vice President Joe Biden launches 2020 presidential campaign

美国前副总统乔·拜登25日宣布将竞选下届美国总统。至此，已有20名民主党人宣布将参加2020年总统选举。拜登表示，“我们正在为国家的灵魂而战”。

Former US Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday formally announced his entry into the race for the Democratic party’s presidential nomination for the 2020 election.

美国前副总统乔·拜登25日正式宣布将加入民主党总统竞选人阵营。

He made his announcement in a video posted on Twitter.

他在推特上发布的一段视频中宣布了这一决定。

“We are in the battle for the soul of this nation,” Biden said in the video released online, calling on voters to deny Republican US President Donald Trump a second term in office.

拜登在视频中说：“我们正在为国家的灵魂而战。”他呼吁选民不要让特朗普成功连任。

In the video announcement, Mr Biden argued that the "core values of the nation... our very democracy, everything that has made America America, is at stake".

在这段视频声明中，拜登称“美国的核心价值观、民主，以及让美国之所以为美国的一切，正岌岌可危。”

at stake：处于危险之中，在紧要关头

"If we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation — who we are. And I cannot stand by and watch that happen."

“如果我们让唐纳德·特朗普成功连任，他将永远且彻底地改变美国的特征，我们的立国之本。我无法袖手旁观，看着这一切发生。”

The 76-year-old, who has already run twice for the presidency, enters a crowded race for the 2020 Democratic nomination.

现年76岁的拜登已两次参选总统（分别在1988年和2008年），如今他又加入了2020年民主党总统候选人的竞选大阵营。

He is up against 19 other hopefuls. They include Senators Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders.

在民主党内他还有19个竞争对手，其中包括参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦、卡玛拉·哈里斯和伯尼·桑德斯。

hopeful ['həʊpfʊl; -f(ə)l]：n.有希望成功的人

各界反应

A spokesman for Mr Obama said selecting Mr Biden as his running mate "was one of the best decisions he ever made" and the two had "forged a special bond", but the former president notably stopped short of an endorsement.

奥巴马的一名发言人表示，选择拜登作为奥巴马的竞选搭档“是他曾做过的最佳决定之一”，两人“形成了特别的关系”，但值得注意的是，奥巴马并没有为拜登公开背书。

endorsement [ɪn'dɔːsm(ə)nt; en-]：n.认可，支持；背书

A source familiar with Mr Obama's thinking said the former president believed "a robust primary in 2007 and 2008 not only made him a better general election candidate, but a better president, too".

与奥巴马智囊团相熟的一位消息人士说，奥巴马相信“2007年和2008年的强有力的初选不仅让拜登成为总统大选更好的候选人，而且能让他成为更好的总统。”

Mr Biden, asked by reporters in Delaware why Mr Obama had not endorsed him, replied: "I asked President Obama not to endorse and he doesn't want to… whoever wins this nomination should win it on their own merits."

在特拉华州被记者问及为什么奥巴马没有公开支持他时，拜登回应说：“我请求奥巴马不要公开支持我，他也不想这么做……不管是谁胜出，都应该凭借自己的实力。”

现任总统特朗普连发两条推特表态：

“欢迎你参加竞选，昏睡的乔。我只希望你有足够的智慧（这点长期富有争议）能够在初选胜出。竞争会很激烈，你必须面对一些想法愚蠢又疯狂的人。但如果你最终赢得初选，我们在起跑线见！”

“我相信这将是疯狂的伯尼·桑德斯与瞌睡的乔·拜登之间的对决，这两位民主党决赛选手将对抗的可能是美国史上最好的经济表现（还有很多其他伟大的事情）！我期待着面对其中任何一位对手。愿上帝让他们的灵魂安息！”

拜登的竞选前景如何？

美国近期一个全国性民调显示，拜登在民主党选民中有27%的支持率，佛蒙特州联邦参议员伯尼·桑德斯以20%的支持率位列第二。分析人士认为，拜登的优势在于从政经验丰富、知名度高等，但也面临高龄、民主党进步派势力壮大等挑战。

He is the most experienced of the Democratic candidates. A six-term senator, he ran twice unsuccessfully for president - in 1988 and 2008.

他是经验最丰富的民主党总统候选人，曾担任六届参议员，分别在1988年和2008年参选总统，但均告失败。

Mr Biden was tipped to run for president again in 2016, the year Mr Trump was elected, but ruled himself out after the death of his 46-year-old son, Beau Biden, from a brain tumor.

2016年公众曾一度认为拜登会竞选总统，但在46岁的儿子博·拜登因脑癌去世后，他宣布不参加竞选。当年特朗普成功当选美国总统。

He has enjoyed relative popularity among Democrats in recent years, consistently leading every national poll of the Democratic primary tracked by the website RealClearPolitics.

最近一些年，拜登在民主党内支持率比较高。在“真正透明政治”网站的民主党初选追踪中，拜登在每次全国民调中都处于领先位置。

行为不当指责

But the former vice-president has been forced to address claims he inappropriately invaded the personal space of women.

但同时，拜登还得对他不恰当地入侵女性私人空间的指责作出回应。

此前，曾有4名女性指责拜登与她们互动的方式令她们感到不舒服。拜登此前曾发声明表示，他的本意并不是让任何人感到不舒服。

He apologized, saying: "The boundaries of protecting personal space have been reset. I understand it and I'll be much more mindful."

他对此表示道歉，并说：“保护个人空间的界限已经重新设定。我理解这一点，今后会更加注意。”

Joe Biden enters the Democratic presidential contest as a front-runner, with huge name recognition and the potential to raise vast amounts of campaign donations.

拜登在民主党竞选阵营中处于领先位置，有很高的知名度，而且有可能筹集到大笔竞选捐款。

Of course, so did Hillary Clinton in 2015 - and we all know how that turned out.

当然，希拉里·克林顿在2015年也做到了这一点，我们都知道结果是什么。

The former vice-president has a lot going for him. He also has a lot going against him. The durability of his campaign is one of the big questions hovering over the Democratic race.

有很多人支持拜登，也有很多人反对他。他的竞选活动能持续多久是民主党总统竞选的一个大问题。

民主党全国委员会总统选举党内初选前两轮辩论将于今年6月和7月举行。

英文来源：BBC、CNBC、新华社

翻译&编辑：yaning