【英语国际】美国第一夫人为丈夫连任竞选助阵

First lady Michelle Obama is beginning to take on a larger -- but carefully calibrated -- role in her husband's re-election campaign.

Mrs. Obama said she plans to devote three days a week to the campaign trail once a Republican presidential nominee is selected. In the meantime, she is cautiously raising her political profile as she re-enters an arena she had been hesitant to step into.

Her role and the campaign's strategy for deploying her are still being defined, but in private discussions with her staff -- and with her husband's advisers -- Mrs. Obama has set boundaries around her time and her initiatives as first lady.

'My approach to campaigning is, 'This is the time that I have to give to the campaign, and whatever you do with that time is up to you, but when it's over, don't even look at me,' ' Mrs. Obama said in an interview with reporters amid a four-state, three-day trip last week to promote her initiative to fight childhood obesity.

'I am absolutely fired up, but I always have to have balance because I'm a mother.'

So far, Mrs. Obama, whose 66% approval rating is well above her husband's, has served mostly as a fund-raising draw and an emissary to women and discouraged Obama supporters.

She has headlined 32 fund-raisers since May for President Barack Obama's re-election campaign. Mrs. Obama is scheduled to raise more money in coming weeks, including at a pair of fund-raisers in March for the Democratic National Convention while she is in North Carolina for an official White House event.

The overlap of official White House travel and campaign business can present a tricky balancing act.

Mrs. Obama is adamant that she doesn't want her initiatives politicized, yet acknowledges that her 'Let's Move!' obesity initiative fits neatly with the president's agenda on preventive health care and his goal to get re-elected this fall.

'This is a bit of a two-fer,' Mrs. Obama said after a 'Let's Move!' event in Dallas. 'It's an issue that I care about, but it's an issue that's important to the country. And because it's an issue that's important to the country, it helps my husband.'

美国第一夫人米歇尔•奥巴马(Michelle Obama)将在丈夫的连任竞选活动中担当更为重要的角色──不过在投入上却要精打细算。

她说，等到共和党选出一名总统候选人之后，她计划每周为竞选活动投入三天时间。与此同时，在即将再次进入一个此前她一直犹豫着是否要进入的领域之际，她也在小心翼翼地提升自己的政治形象。

Associated Press上周六，米歇尔•奥巴马在佛罗里达发表演说。她的角色以及在竞选活动中如何发挥其作用的战略仍有待确定，但在私下里与工作人员及丈夫的顾问进行讨论时，她为自己履行第一夫人职责的时间和活动设定了界线。

她上周在抵制儿童肥胖的宣传活动中接受记者采访时说，我对选战的态度是，我能安排出来的时间就这么多，怎么利用这些时间由你们说了算，等到这些时间用完了，就不要再找我了。她的这次抵制儿童肥胖宣传活动为期三天，涵盖了四个州。

她说，我肯定会全力以赴，但我必须做出平衡，因为我是一位母亲。

目前为止，她在选战中的主要工作是出席筹款活动、吸引女性选民及士气低落的奥巴马支持者。她的好评率为66%，远远高于她的丈夫。

自去年5月以来，她已经为奥巴马的连任竞选活动主持了32场筹款活动。按照计划，未来几周她将筹集更多的款项，其中包括3月去北卡罗来纳州出席一场白宫安排的官方活动，期间她将为民主党全国大会(Democratic National Convention)主持两场筹款活动。

既要参加白宫安排的官方出行活动，又要参与选战事务，想要平衡可不那么容易。

她坚决表示，不希望自己的倡议被政治化。然而她也承认，她的“一起来运动！”(Let's Move!)抵制肥胖活动完全符合奥巴马预防性医疗护理的日程及今年秋季争取连任的目标。

她在达拉斯举行的一场“一起来运动！”活动后说，这可以说是一举两得。这是我关心的事，同时也是对国家重要的事；由于这是件对国家重要的事，就可以帮到我的丈夫。