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 “My fellow Americans, I am proud and humbled to have received your support as president of the United States.” (Wild cheers.) “I am not proud, however, of this election, or of my own role in it.”
“We have heard much about division in our land: red versus blue; Middle America versus the coasts; flags versus peace signs; even Starbucks versus Dunkin’ Donuts. 2 The smallest choices have become declarations of self and a chance to demean 3 the other. Identity politics has reached a fever pitch. 4 It is a fever that must be broken or it will consume us.
“We are all Americans, and we are all in trouble. We face challenges at home and abroad that require the hands and hearts and brains of every one of us working together. In Congress, in our communities, in the community of nations, we cannot afford another moment of partisan gridlock. 5
“Tonight, I dedicate myself and my administration to healing these divisions and restoring civility to our politics—starting with the way we run our campaigns.
“Both my opponent and I are better men than our campaigns would have you believe. Each of us entered into an increasingly toxic 6 political climate not for personal gain but because we truly believe our approach is best for America—different as those approaches may be. My opponent didn’t deserve the kind of personal attacks that defined this campaign. And neither did I.
“Our campaign ads were full of manipulation 7, distortion, and sometimes outright falsehoods. They were an insult to the long-suffering voter.
“I take personal responsibility for much of this. I allowed my surrogates to impugn the integrity and intelligence of my opponent, and when I felt it was getting too close, I joined in myself. 8
“I refused to blow the whistle on a campaign-finance system that has thoroughly corrupted our politics. 9 I allowed groups exploiting loopholes in our reform laws to run wild on the the chance they would benefit me. 10 When I think of all the good that might have been accomplished with the $1 billion-plus spent on this campaign—feeding hungry families, finding cures for diseases, fighting the war on terror—‘obscene’ barely begins to cover it. 11
“I shamelessly used religion to defend my candidacy, exposing what should be a private relationship with the Almighty for crass political gain. 12 America’s Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they kept sectarianism out of the public realm, 13 and I should have let it stay there. Instead, I tried to outchurch 14 the other guy.
“I let a few big issues dominate the debate and let less powerful constituencies fend for themselves. 15 I barely uttered a word about poverty or offered hope of redemption to the homeless, the addled, the addicted, 16 or the two million Americans in our jails and prisons.
“I sat by and allowed civic discourse to descend into a shout-fest of bilious invective. 17 Words like ‘traitor,’ ‘liar,’ ‘Hitler’—powerful words reserved for the rarest of circumstances—became so much a part of everyday vocabulary that they lost their meaning.
“The one redeeming 18 part of this campaign came on Election Day, when voters came out in extraordinary numbers to demonstrate their faith in the system. Voter turnout 19 broke all records. In Ohio and New Hampshire, in Florida and Iowa, people helped others under crowded, sometimes tense conditions—sharing folding chairs, bottled water and snacks while they waited for hours to exercise this precious franchise 20.
“You voted in spite of the campaign we gave you, not because of it. So I dedicate this acceptance speech to you, dear voters. I promise you that I will not allow the coarsening 21 of our civic life to continue. I will use the bully pulpit 22 of the presidency to lift up, not to tear down. I will stand by a set of decent, universal American values and not be swayed by the person with the biggest bullhorn or fattest wallet.23 I humbly ask for your trust. I may ask for sacrifices, but I know Americans are willing to make them.
“I’d like to close tonight with words from the second inaugural 24 address of Abraham Lincoln—a great leader who knew a few things about healing deadly divisions in this land. They are uncannily 25 appropriate tonight.
“‘With malice 26 towards none, with charity for all,’ he said, ‘let us bind up 27 the nation’s wounds... to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace—among ourselves, and with all nations.”
“Thank you, and God bless America.”
1. acceptance speech: 〈美〉总统候选人接受政党提名时所作的演讲。
2. 这句话描述了美国社会现存的几种对立的情形：①美国总统大选时，媒体在地图上将两党赢得的各州，分别以红蓝两色表示。2004年的总统大选被描绘成“红美国”和“蓝美国”的决斗，这里红色阴差阳错地成了保守的共和党的代表，而蓝色则成了民主党的代表。从最近20年的美国总统选举看，“红美国”主要集中在中部和南部，“蓝美国”则集中在东北部和西部太平洋沿岸。两者交界处有若干州（如俄亥俄州、宾夕法尼亚州等）游移于两党之间，这些便是所谓的“战场州”，历来为“兵家必争之地”。②美国中部传统上支持共和党，而沿海城市一般支持民主党。③美国国旗通常是号召人民“反恐”、 将战争进行下去的标志，而反战人士多打着和平的旗号；④星巴克（Starbucks）和美国知名连锁快餐店Dunkin’ Donuts所售卖的咖啡也各有一批忠实拥趸。
3. demean: 贬损。
4. 身份认同政治达到了狂热的巅峰。identity politics: 身份认同政治。它强调身份认同具有政治性，而政治组织也需要以身份认同作为团结的基础。
5. partisan gridlock: 党派混乱。
6. toxic: 有害的。
7. manipulation: 操纵，控制。
8. 我允许我的代理人怀疑对手的诚实和才智，当我感觉（选票）差距太小时，我自己也加入其中。impugn: 抨击，对（言词、行动、品质等）表示怀疑。
9. 我不愿去揭露竞选筹集资金体制（的内幕），尽管它已经完全腐蚀了我们的政治。blow the whistle: 告发，揭发。
10. 只要对我有利，我就允许那些钻选举改革法空子的集团随心所欲。loophole: 漏洞；reform law: 此处应指2002年美国通过的《跨党派竞选改革法》，2004年总统大选是该法案通过后的第一届总统大选；run wild: 失去控制。
11. 用“下流”这个词也远不足以形容这种情况。
12. (the) Almighty: （基督教的）上帝；crass: 完全的。
13. Founding Father: （参加1787年美国制宪会议的）制宪元勋；sectarianism: 宗派主义。
14. outchurch: “out- ”此处表示“完全”，即让其他人也变成基督徒。
15. constituency: （选区的）选 民；fend for oneself: 照料自己。
16. 我对贫困几乎只字未提，对无家可归者、愚笨者和（吸毒）成瘾者也未给予任何挽救的希望。redemption: 挽救，改造。
17. 我对公民的讨论变成恶心的谩骂竞赛坐视不管。sit by: 袖手旁观；bilious:令人厌恶的，使人不快的；invective: 辱骂，咒骂。
18. redeeming: 可以弥补欠缺的。
19. turnout: 到会人数。
20. franchise: 选举权。
21. coarsen: 变粗俗（粗鲁）。
22. bully pulpit: 先声夺人（霸道）的讲坛。语出美国第26任总统西 奥多·罗斯福（1858-1919）。
23. sway: 使改变看法；bullhorn: 扩音器，喇叭筒。
24. inaugura: 就职的。
25. uncannily: 非同寻常地。
26. malice: 恶意。
27. bind up: 包扎。
阅读感评
冷战后，尤其是近十几年来，美国政治家的自信心日益膨胀。克林顿政府喜欢称美国为“不可或缺的国家”（the indispensable nation），而现任总统布什更是称美国为“地球上向善的最伟大力量”（the greatest force for good on this earth）、“地球上最伟大的国度”（the greatest nation on earth）。副总统切尼甚至说“当美国建立时，天上的星星一定在舞蹈。”（When America was created, the stars must have danced in the sky.）美国政府的其他官员也总是接着话茬标榜美国为“山冈上那座耀眼的城市”（a shining city on a hill），夸耀美国人是世界上“最伟大的人民”。
以上自我夸耀的出发点均是他们所认为的美国“最能保证自由和民主”的政治制度。美国独立以来，其自我形象即为“人类自由的灯塔”（beacon of liberty to mankind）；而布什总统更是将此表达为某种传教使命：“We have a calling from beyond the stars to stand for freedom.”有美国人进一步表达为:“We do the most to make good things happen and prevent bad things happening.”或“The only country in the world that never makes a mistake is the United States.”伟大是一回事，不犯错误是另一回事。但现在的美国政治家们胃口却出奇地大，要“通吃”，以证明上面所说的“No greater force for good exists than the United States.”
由此我们可以初步推断，现在的美国政治家们大多是历史、现实的遗忘症患者。他们似乎全然不知美国历史上曾发生过的对印第安人的种族灭绝、蓄奴制、越战、在拉丁美洲的种种肮脏的勾当以及作为“解放者”在伊拉克Abu Ghraib监狱犯下的令人发指的罪行等等。
当然也有些美国人没那么傲慢，他们还揭自己在制度上的短，保持着较清醒的头脑。如本文的作者，他以虚构的“一位诚实候选人接受政党提名时的演说”来抨击美国的总统选举制度。总统选举制度应该是美国整个政治制度的核心和缩影，但在作者看来，时至今日，美国选举制度已是问题成堆，政治气候严重恶化。例如：
一、“自成一派”政治。在哪怕最微不足道的问题上也要标榜自我、贬损他人；
二、对对手进行人身攻击，千方百计抨击其道德和智力方面的缺陷；
三、选举广告充斥着操纵、歪曲甚至虚假；
四、严重腐蚀政治的竞选资金筹集体制；
五、用宗教信仰来辩解；
六、辩论的论题避重就轻，好用辱骂之语。
理论上讲，美国人只要符合以下条件就能参加总统竞选：美国出生的公民；至少35岁；就职前在美国居留至少14年。但实际上大多数美国人几乎是没有什么机会的。 别的且不说，就说筹措巨额资金来进行全国范围的大选这一项，就足以让他们打退堂鼓了。据说，自1976年以来，在选举前一年底能筹措到最多资金并且有资格获得联邦配合赠捐款的候选人均能获得其党派的总统提名。1999年，现任美国总统就创下了在四个月内筹集三千七百万美元的纪录。俗话说，“甚至一条狗都不会咬喂养它的那只手”，一个政治派别及领导人怎么能够“出卖”那些掏钱的主顾呢？因此，有人称目前的美国政治是“华盛顿的雇佣军、付钱就能玩的文化”（Washington mercenary, pay-to-play culture），说白了就是政治家与那些付了钱的利益集团的勾结。
经历了水门事件、克林顿弹劾案的美国人对美国政府官员的以上举动早已见怪不怪了，他们也许还觉得“撒谎”也是种有效的公关技巧呢。我们也许可以总结说，美国的总统选举成功与否，至少得有两个必要条件：首先候选人要有足够的银子，同时他还能及时有效地传达信息给公众，虽然这种信息往往仅仅是一种哄骗。 | 
