四年一度的美国总统选举总是最热门的新闻话题,恐怕当年托克威尔笔下的美国式民主还不曾上演过今日总统选举这样极富戏剧性的大片,联想到四年前布什的艰难获胜,作为“局外人”,我们倒有理由来看看今年将有什么好戏上演!

　　MADISON, Wis.(威斯康星的麦迪逊城)-Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, arriving Sunday at a remote resort to practice for this week's debate, took a swing at President Bush for pronouncing the Iraqi mission accomplished while the monthly death toll mounts.

　　"I will never be a president who just says mission accomplished. I will get the mission accomplished," Kerry said to a small group of supporters waiting on the airport tarmac(停机坪).

　　Kerry was taking a break from nearly nonstop campaign travel to prepare for the debates in a closely divided state(各自势力相当的州) that both candidates want to capture.

　　"It's Wisconsin," said spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter, when asked how the campaign picked(选用) the locale(地点). "It's a remote area where we can concentrate and focus and still get out to talk to voters as much as possible."

　　In Crawford, Texas, where the president spent about four hours this weekend preparing for the debate, White House communications director Dan Bartlett called Kerry a "seasoned" debater against whom Bush would merely "hold his own." But then Bartlett accused Kerry of taking more than one position on foreign policy issues - the subject of the first debate.

　　In Washington, Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliff called Bush a "great debater," but said the president wins match-ups(竞赛) on "style not substance."

　　At podiums(讲台) set up in a conference area of the ranch(草坪), Bush practiced a couple hours Saturday and then another two hours Sunday morning. Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., played Kerry.

　　Mark McKinnon, media adviser for the Bush-Cheney campaign, was the moderator(主持人).

　　"Obviously, President Bush has had to practice twice as hard to learn all the different positions that John Kerry has taken on the big issues of the day," Bartlett said. "But he's ready to hold his own."