当地时间10月3日晚9时(北京时间4日早9时)，美国2012总统大选首场辩论在科罗拉多州的丹佛大学举行，目前辩论仍在进行中，首场辩论将围绕经济和国内政策为主题。
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，美国，10月3日（新华网）——美国总统巴拉克·奥巴马和他的共和党对手罗姆尼在周三在丹佛大学开始了他们的首场大选辩论，辩论主题为经济和国内政策。
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.
本场辩论由PBS的老牌记者吉姆·赖乐主持，开场向奥巴马提出一个问题，问他如何创造工作机会，奥巴马回答了2分钟，然后罗姆尼继续。
The debate is to run for 90 minutes.
本场辩论将持续90分钟。
Economy is the most important topic, as it takes up half of the time.
经济问题是最重要的话题，有半场讨论都集中在经济问题上。
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.
辩论之前，双方都表示会给候选人不给媒体过滤直接跟选民对话的机会。
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.
本次大选对罗姆尼来说风险很大，大选民调他落后奥巴马。本·金斯伯格，罗姆尼阵营高级顾问周三早晨在丹佛的简报会中说，这位前马萨诸塞州州长将展现出对未来四年他和奥巴马的不同见解。
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.
辩论开始前，还有一些对奥巴马不太有利的风声。副总统乔·拜登，奥巴马的最高代理人，周二说中产阶级在过去四年遭“埋葬”，这一说法马上被共和党人抓住说奥巴马总统任期内经济衰败。
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年的视频显示，当时的参议员奥巴马的评论带有“种族色彩”，这段视频也在周二晚上浮出水面，在保守派媒体上迅速扩散。
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，奥巴马仍然带着明显的民调优势参加辩论，约有三分之二的选民认为奥巴马将赢得这场辩论。
But Obama's lead in the presidential race is being challenged, as most recent polls show Romney is closing the gap somewhat.
不过，奥巴马在总统大选中的领先地位正在被挑战，近期的大部分民调显示，罗姆尼正在缩小这一差距。