When the noise died down, I said that the election was about one simple question: Are we going to keep this progress and prosperity going?

当大家静下来时，我说，今年的选举其实是关于一个简单的问题：“我们要让进步和繁荣保持下去吗？”

youdao

With the election approaching and the budget fight at least temporarily resolved, members of Congress in both parties were eager to give the American people evidence of bipartisan progress.

随着大选临近和预算案之战至少暂时告一段落，两党的国会成员都渴望向美国人民提供证据，表现两党共同取得的进步。

youdao

Voters here go to the polls Sunday in a by-election that opposition lawmakers are framing as a referendum on faster progress toward direct elections.

港选民将于周日进行一次补选。在反对派议员看来，这是一场有关是否加快直接选举进程的全民公投。

youdao

"It was election of high quality. It offered the voters genuine choice between candidates, and it showed significant progress over previous elections."

VOA: standard.2010.02.01

This election demonstrated progress toward that goal and should give hope to divided, democratizing countries such as Burma.

WSJ: Michael Vatikiotis: Seeds of Change in Kuala Lumpur

However, election-year politics stymied progress on such a deal, leading to the situation Friday in which both sides acknowledged being unable to prevent something neither wanted.

CNN: Obama signs order activating deep spending cuts

Most poisonously, there are extreme partisans in both parties who want to stop progress before the election for fear that the other party might get some credit.

CNN: 3 bipartisan bills that could get the economy moving