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In White House race, the truth sometimes hurts 選戰吐真言 傷人又傷己

This July 9, 2008, combination image shows US presidential candidates John McCain, left, and Barack Obama. 這組七月九日拍攝的照片是美國總統候選人約翰．麥肯（左）與巴拉克．歐巴馬。 照片：法新社 PHOTO: AFP

The most expensive White House race ever is throwing up a rich catalogue of gaffes and unwisely uttered truths.

Republican candidate John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama have seen their campaigns rocked recently by supporters who planted their feet squarely in their mouths.

Former senator Phil Gramm, a top McCain advisor, undercut his boss’s fervent efforts to show voters he gets their economic plight when he declared America a “nation of whiners” mired in a recession of the mind.

Civil rights icon Jesse Jackson insists he is a passionate Obama supporter but seemed to betray his real views in a whispered aside on an open microphone.

“I want to cut his nuts off,” Jackson said, accusing the Illinois senator of talking down to black people.

These are classic examples of people blurting out things they believe, but would be wise to keep to themselves — or as columnist Michael Kinsley once famously put it: a gaffe is when a politician tells the truth.

Obama foreign policy advisor Samantha Power took a trip to Britain during the primary campaign and appeared to leave her discretion back home.

Power branded Obama’s Democratic rival Hillary Clinton a “monster.” It’s a sentiment perhaps shared by some inside Obama’s campaign, but it jars with the high-minded tone he has adopted for his White House bid.

She resigned not long after that gaffe.

It’s not just surrogates who can get foot-in-mouth disease. McCain’s sense of humor sometimes causes him problems.

Last week, as tensions with Tehran flared, McCain was told by a journalist that US cigarette exports to Iran had soared. “Maybe that’s a way of killing them,” he quipped, before hurriedly adding: “I meant that as a joke.”

Perhaps the underlying message of all these missteps is that in a campaign as long as this candidates and their backers are bound to make mistakes. (AFP)

這場有史以來最花錢的白宮大位爭奪戰，頻頻傳出發言不當或輕率吐露真言的狀況。

共和黨候選人約翰．麥肯和民主黨的巴拉克．歐巴馬兩人最近都因幕僚失言而震撼選情。

麥肯的重要顧問前參議員費爾．葛蘭姆表示，心智衰弱的人民讓美國淪為一個「抱怨國」。麥肯積極想證明他了解選民的經濟困境，但費爾等於捅了他一刀。

黑人民權領袖傑西．傑克遜強調他是歐巴馬的狂熱支持者，但他卻在一支沒關的麥克風旁低聲說出「違心之論」。

傑克遜說：「我想把他給閹了。」他指責這位伊利諾州參議員貶低黑人。

這些都是人們脫口說出不該說的真話的典型例子；就像專欄作家麥可．金思利轟動一時的名言所說：政治人物說出事實就是失言。

歐巴馬的外交政策顧問莎曼珊．包爾在黨內初選期間出訪英國，結果她顯然把判斷力留在美國了。

包爾批評歐巴馬同黨的競選對手希拉蕊．柯林頓是個「怪物」。這可能是歐巴馬陣營內部部分人士對希拉蕊的看法，但卻有違他力倡的高格調競選。

她在那次失言後不久便主動請辭。

不只是代理人會說錯話，麥肯的幽默感有時候也讓他惹上麻煩。

德黑蘭上週試射飛彈造成國際情勢緊張，有記者告訴麥肯美國出口至伊朗的香菸數量大增，他就嘲諷說：「也許這是殲滅伊朗人之道，」隨後又趕緊補充說：「我說笑的啦。」

也許這種種失言背後的原因就是，在這種長期抗戰的選戰中，候選人和他們的支援團隊不可能不犯錯吧。

（法新社／翻譯：袁星塵）

TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字 1. gaffe n. 失禮 (shi1 li3)，失言 (shi1 yan2) 例: Vinny caused trouble for himself with his latest gaffe. (文尼最近一次失言讓他惹上麻煩。) 2. fervent adj. 強烈的 (qiang2 lie4 de5)，熱情的 (re4 qing2 de5) 例: Andrea is a fervent supporter of the New York Mets. (安德莉雅是紐約大都會球隊的超級粉絲。) 3. discretion n. 判斷力 (pan4 duan4 li4)，謹慎 (jin3 shen4) 例: Discretion is advised when you meet with the manager. (你和經理見面的時候最好謹言慎行。) 4. quip v.i./v.t. 嘲諷 (chao2 feng4) 例: Sammy quipped about her sister's dress and ended up in the doghouse. (珊蜜嘲諷她妹妹的洋裝，結果害自己丟臉。)

READING COMPREHENSION 閱讀測驗 1. Whom does Phil Gramm support? a. Barack Obama. b. John McCain. c. The article doesn’t say. 2. Michael Kinsley is... a. a politician. b. an economic advisor. c. a writer. 3. Who got called a monster? a. Barack Obama. b. John McCain. c. Hillary Clinton. 4. McCain was told that Iranians are... a. buying more US cigarettes. b. now supporting the US government. c. pleased with his performance.

SAY WHAT? 說說看 put one’s foot in one’s mouth 說錯話讓自己難堪 If a person puts his foot in his mouth, he makes a mistake by saying an embarrassing thing. As in the article above, one could use the word “plant” instead of “put.” For example: “Trevor really put his foot in his mouth when he went to congratulate Maria on her pregnancy only to find out that she had simply gained weight,” or “You’re just planting your foot in your mouth when you make absurd accusations about politicians you don’t like.” 如果某人「put his foot in his mouth」，就表示他說錯話讓自己難堪；你也可以如上文用「plant」這個字取代「put」。 例如：「崔佛這次真的是說錯話了，他跑去恭喜瑪利亞懷孕，結果卻發現她只是變胖了」或是「你對不喜歡的政治人物的那番荒唐指控，只是讓自己失言難堪罷了」。

OUT LOUD 對話練習 Joe: You got to come watch this. Annie: What is it? Joe: It’s a clip of a classic Bushism, where W says, “There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.” Annie: I don’t want to see something so depressing. I mean, that’s our president. Joe: Suit yourself, but I could sit here watching these quotes all day long. 喬伊：妳一定要來看看這個。 安妮：什麼啊？ 喬伊：一段布希經典語錄，小布希說：「田納西州有一句俗諺說（我知道這句俗諺出於德州，但也可能是田納西州）：騙我一次，丟臉—你該覺得害臊，騙得過我—你就不會再被騙了。」（註：原文應是「騙我一次是你不對，但被騙兩次就是我的不對了。」） 安妮：我不想看那麼讓人沮喪的東西，我是說，他是我們的總統耶。 喬伊：隨你，但我可樂得整天坐在這裡看這些引述。 Bushism　布希語錄 A Bushism is a ridiculous quote attributed to either US President George W. Bush or to his father, former US president George H. W. Bush. 「Bushism」就是收錄美國總統小布希或前美國總統老布希荒唐可笑言論的語錄。

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