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The Democratic victory was
cemented with the late defeat Wednesday morning
of Virginia's incumbent Senator George Allen by
challenger Jim Webb. |
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Webb's win gave
the Democrats a one-seat majority in the
Senate. |
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Democrats had earlier
secured control of the House of Representatives
with a 28-seat majority. |
|
The Virginia race was decided
by a less-than-0.5-percentage-point margin in
Webb's favor, closing one of the more vicious
races in an election season filled with
mean-spirited and vitriolic
campaigning. |
| |
維吉尼亞州現任參議員喬治艾倫遲至週三上午才遭挑戰者吉姆韋柏擊敗，這項結果進一步鞏固了民主黨的勝利。韋柏的勝利讓民主黨得以在參議院取得一席的多數。民主黨稍早以二十八席的多數取得了眾議院的掌控權。韋柏在維吉尼亞的選戰中以不到百分之零點五的差距勝選，為選舉期間這場選風惡毒、充斥惡意和謾罵的選舉活動劃下句點。 |
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Issues as divisive as same-sex
marriage, abortion and stem cell research
figured into many midterm races, but no single
issue drove voters to the polls, and away from
the president's political allies, in greater
numbers than the Iraq war. |
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The election boiled down
to a referendum on what many voters see as
Bush's failed war policy. |
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When the time came Wednesday
morning to assess the night's losses, the first
head to roll in the president's inner circle was
that of the man regarded as the war's architect,
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. |
| |
諸如同性婚姻、墮胎和幹細胞研究等意見分歧的議題，成為多場期中選舉選戰中主要對決的話題，但其中尤以伊拉克戰爭這件事驅使民眾前往投票，並且選擇不將票投給布希總統的政治盟友。這次選舉等於一場許多選民針對布希總統失敗的戰爭政策進行的公民投票。當時間來到星期三上午，要對前晚的失敗進行評估時，總統身邊幕僚第一個捲包袱走路的人，正是被認為一手主導伊拉克戰爭的國防部長唐諾．倫斯斐。 |
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In defeat, the president
displayed a new willingness to mend fences with
his political opponents. |
|
Bush began by extending an
olive branch to California Democrat Nancy
Pelosi, the soon-to-be Speaker of the House,
whom he lunched with at the White House
Wednesday. |
| |
在落敗後，總統展現出要與他的政治對手修補關係的意願。布希先向即將成為眾議院議長的加州民主黨眾議員南西．裴洛西釋出善意，週三與她在白宮共進午餐。 |
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"It was really lovely,"
the House leader-in-waiting
said. |
|
"We won't agree on every
issue," Bush added. "But we do agree that we
love America equally." |
| |
「這次餐會真的很棒」，這位準眾議院議長表示。布希補充說，「我們不會每件事都看法一致，但我們都同意我們都一樣愛美國。」 |
