奧巴馬應對埃博拉舉措成選舉爭論點
The Obama administration’s handling of Ebola has become an election issue as Republicans blame White House incompetence for the infection of two Texas healthcare workers with the deadly virus.
奧巴馬政府對埃博拉(Ebola)的處理已成爲一個選舉議題，共和黨指責白宮無能，致使兩名得克薩斯醫護人員感染這種致命病毒。The White House is on the defensive as it faces questions over how the workers were infected, why one later took two domestic flights and why the US has not banned travellers from Ebola-hit parts of Africa. Ahead of congressional elections on November 4, Republicans are using Ebola to reinforce the party’s accusation that Barack Obama has pursued a weak foreign policy and failed to safeguard Americans.
白宮在面對諸多相關問題時處於守勢，包括兩名醫護人員是怎樣感染的，爲什麼其中一人後來乘坐了兩次國內航班，以及爲什麼美國沒有針對來自埃博拉非洲疫區的旅行者實施禁令。在11月4日的國會中期選舉前夕，共和黨正利用埃博拉來加強他們的指責，即巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)一直奉行軟弱的外交政策，未能保護美國人民。
Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican in an election fight that could determine which party controls the Senate, said this week: “I call on the president to actually lead on this issue, take emergency action and protect American lives before we have an epidemic here at home.”
堪薩斯州共和黨人帕特•羅伯茨(Pat Roberts)在本週表示：“我呼籲總統在這一問題上切實發揮領導作用，趁疫情還未在國內爆發之前採取緊急行動，保護美國人民的生命。”他參與了這場能夠決定參議院受哪個黨控制的選舉大戰。
In response to criticism, Mr Obama on Wednesday cancelled a presidential trip to fundraising events in New Jersey and Connecticut to chair a meeting of senior cabinet members responsible for confronting the threat of Ebola in the US. He said after the meeting that the US would take a “much more aggressive” approach to containing existing Ebola cases in the US and ensuring hospitals knew how to deal with new ones.
爲應對批評，奧巴馬在週三取消了前往新澤西和康涅狄格州參加籌款活動的總統行程，以主持召開一場會議，與會者爲負責應對埃博拉在美國威脅的內閣高級成員。奧巴馬在會後表示美國將採取“更積極”的措施，控制美國的現有埃博拉病例，並確保醫院知道如何處理新增病例。The US president also called European leaders to discuss better co-ordination in the fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea and to issue a call for more money and personnel to “to bend the curve of the epidemic”.
美國總統還呼籲歐洲領導人商討更好的協調方法，以迎戰塞拉利昂、利比里亞和幾內亞的埃博拉疫情，並呼籲投入更多資金和人力來“扭轉疫情的發展”。The meetings were held as US authorities sought to trace 132 people who shared a flight with the second infected health worker who cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who died of Ebola last week at a Dallas hospital.
此次會議舉行之際，美國政府正努力追蹤與第二名受感染醫護人員同機過的132人，該名受感染者曾照顧過托馬斯•埃裏克•鄧肯(Thomas Eric Duncan)——上週在達拉斯一家醫院死於埃博拉病毒的利比里亞人。This year’s electoral battles have not been united by a single national theme and the Obama administration is striving to prevent the question of Ebola-related competence from filling the void. Some Democratic groups have sought to turn the tables on Republicans by accusing them of voting to cut the budget of the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention, the federal agency leading the response, which has come under fire.
今年的選舉大戰尚未產生一個統一的全國性主題，奧巴馬政府正力求阻止埃博拉相關政府能力問題填補這一空白。一些民主黨團體試圖扭轉局勢，他們指責共和黨投票削減美國疾病控制預防中心(US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)預算，這一領導應對行動的聯邦機構已遭到譴責。
