1、2008 年可以说是多事之年，其中美国大选一波三折，经济危机让全球震动。美国时代杂志最近评出了 2008 年度十大尴尬瞬间，其中竟有四件与美国大选有关。 1. Bush dances while waiting for McCain It was already going to be a delicate moment of political theater an unpopular president offering a candidate he didnt really like an endorsement the candidate didnt really want. But
2、the situation was made all the more awkward when George W. Bush went to the North Portico steps of the White House in March to welcome new Republican presidential nominee John McCain and McCain wasnt there. “So, anyway,“ Bush said to waiting reporters. “As I was saying.“ Still no McCain. The preside
3、nt smiled. And then he did a soft-shoe dance. “Im just going to tap dance the day away,“ he said. Minutes later, McCain arrived with wife in tow, and the tap-dancing president endorsed the tardy candidate. 第一、布什等麦凯恩不耐烦跳舞打发时间 2008 年 3 月 5 日，在获得党内提名所需的 1191 张党代表票后，美国共和党总统候选人约翰麦凯恩前往白宫，与总统布什共进午餐，作为布什正式宣
4、布支持他的前奏。但布什却被麦凯恩晾在白宫北门等了好一会儿。早早来到白宫北门的布什左等右等麦凯恩不到，为了调节气氛，竟然在众位记者面前独自跳起踢跶舞来。 2. Greenspan “shocked“ to find flaws in his free-market ideology He used to be known as “The Maestro,“ for presiding over such a long period of economic growth. But this fall the former Federal Reserve chairman was being bla
5、med for the laissez faire economic policies that contributed to the current financial crisis. In Congressional testimony in October, Alan Greenspan acknowledged that he was “partially“ wrong in opposing financial regulation. “Yes, I found a flaw,“ he said, when grilled about his free-market ideology
6、. “That is precisely the reason I was shocked, because Id been going for 40 years or more with very considerable evidence that it was working exceptionally well.“ Also shocked is anyone who plans on retiring before the end of the next geologic era. 第二、格林斯潘震惊自由市场经济有缺陷 前美联储主席格林斯潘令世界经济持续增长，被尊称为“艺术大师” 。
7、但是 2008 年秋，格林斯潘自由放任的经济政策饱受责难，在一定程度上导致了当前的金融危机。在 10 月举行的美国国会听证会上，格林斯潘承认，自由市场理论“有缺陷” ，无拘无束的自由市场并不一定是良好经济的根基。格林斯潘对这个缺陷感到“震惊” ，因为四十多年来，他一直认为有确凿证据证明这种理论的效果非常好。格林斯潘还称，银行自我调节能力的全面崩溃令他“万分震惊，难以置信 ”。他还提醒人们关注这场危机的经济影响，称 “真不知道我们怎么能避免裁员和失业人数大增”。 3. Olympic committees about-face in Beijing Olympic etiquette dicta
8、tes that you dont diss your host country. So in August, when four U.S. cyclists disembarked from their plane in Beijing wearing masks to guard against the citys notorious air pollution, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) demanded that the athletes apologize to the Chinese. The only problem was that t
9、he masks had been provided to the cyclists by the USOC itself. Thats right. The USOC forced athletes to apologize for wearing gear it had specifically designed for them and recommended they wear. The cyclists said the negative encounter, which took place three days before the Games started, prevente
10、d them from performing their best and earning any medals. In September, the USOC sent a letter to the athletes, acknowledging it had mishandled the situation. 第三、美国运动员戴面罩参加北京奥运 奥运会礼节规定：运动员不能有诋毁东道国的言论或行为。但在 2008 北京奥运会前，四名美国脚踏车运动员却带着面罩走下飞机，声称是为了避免城市空气污染。对此，美国奥林匹克委员会要求这些运动员向中国人民道歉。但万分尴尬的是，这些面罩恰好是美国奥委会特
11、别为运动员准备的。这些运动员赛后表示，此次事件对他们影响很大，令他们发挥失常，没能赢得任何奖牌。9 月，美国奥委会在给运动员信中承认，是他们误导了运动员。 4. The View over use of the N word Really, is there any better place for probing cultural analysis than daytime television? Tempers flared when the co-hosts of ABCs The View discussed Jesse Jacksons off-air use of the “N-w
12、ord“ while preparing for an appearance on Fox News. Elisabeth Hasselbeck disagreed with Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd about the use of the word. Hasselbeck made the case that its a slur and should never be used, Goldberg that its OK for African Americans to say it. Then the two women argued ab
13、out whether they live in the same world, Hasselbeck started to cry and Barbara Walters snapped, “Take a breath, let someone else talk.“ And the wounds of a nation were healed. 第四、节目主持人直播中争吵 美国广播公司视角节目开始前，主持人伊丽莎白哈瑟尔贝克与乌比 戈德堡，就重量级黑人牧师耶西杰克逊攻击奥巴马时使用的 “贬低黑人用语 ”发生激烈争论。哈瑟尔贝克认为那是一个污点，杰克逊永远不会再使用。而戈德堡称非洲裔美国人可
14、以使用。然后，两位女性开始争论他们是否生活在同样的世界中。 5. Barack almost forgets to ask donors to help with Hillarys campaign debt It was supposed to be an opportunity for Barack Obama to soothe the tensions that still simmered between Hillary Clintons supporters and his own. In July, the senator had secured the Democratic n
15、omination and planned to use a New York City fundraising event to solicit donations to help pay off Clintons millions of dollars in campaign debt. But Obama gave a 32-minute speech that never mentioned the debt and started walking off to Stevie Wonders “Signed, Sealed, and Delivered,“ before realizi
16、ng his error. Rushing back on stage, Obama said, “Hold on a second, guys! I was getting all carried away!“ He then solicited the help, and doubts about whether fences had been mended were put to rest months later, when Clinton agreed to serve as Obamas secretary of state. 第五、奥巴马演讲中忘记帮希拉里还债 今年 7 月，奥巴
17、马基本确定能够获得民主党总统候选人的党内提名，并计划利用纽约筹款集会的机会，恳求捐款人帮他还清希拉里欠下的数百万美元的竞选债务。对于奥巴马来说，那是缓和希拉里的支持者与自己关系的一个良机。但是在奥巴马 32 分钟的演讲中，只字未提希拉里。就在奥巴马要走下台时，突然意识到自己的错误，他又急忙返回台上，奥巴马说：“请大家等一下！ ”然后，他恳求支持者们慷慨解囊，帮希拉里还债。几个月后，希拉里成为奥巴马的国务卿。6. Project Runway contestant tells judges she wasnt aiming for elegance When the Project Runway
18、 judges mercilessly criticize a designers work, appropriate responses on the reality show include passionately defending ones personal aesthetic, weeping and running backstage into the comforting arms of fashion therapist Tim Gunn. But Season 5s stubborn stylist Kenley Collins never quite got the ha
19、ng of constructive criticism. When judge Heidi Klum declared that Collins faux snakeskin tube dress “doesnt look elegant,“ Kenley snapped, screaming, “Its not supposed to be elegant, HEI-DI!“ And while shrieking at anyone who questions your taste may not be the best strategy in the fashion world, it
20、s a sure path to reality TV stardom. Collins stayed on until the final round of competition, which she lost. 第六、 “天桥骄子”竞争者不想高雅 美国设计师选秀节目天桥骄子中，评委一向会毫不留情地批评一个设计者的作品，通常，设计师会激烈地为自己辩护，或者无声哭泣，有的甚至直接跑掉。但是第五季中，当评委海蒂克拉姆宣布设计师肯雷 柯林斯的作品“蛇皮管状女服”看起来不高雅时，柯林斯突然尖叫道：“海蒂，我本来就不是走的高雅路线。 ” 7. Sarah Palins turkey pardon I
21、ts the kind of fun, mindless photo op a politician really cant mess up: the Thanksgiving turkey pardon. But somehow the Alaska governors trip to the Triple D Farm and Hatchery outside Wasilla went, well, foul. After pardoning a 30-lb. gobbler, Palin stepped outside the hatchery to give a televised i
22、nterview, and as she was talking about life on the campaign trail, state budget cuts and her holiday plans, a man a few feet behind the governor was slaughtering turkeys and draining their blood in full view of the cameras. “This was neat,“ Palin said of the outing. Maybe for her, but not for the tu
23、rkeys. 第七、佩林赦免火鸡遭涮 根据美国传统，在感恩节前夕，美国总统及相关官员都会正式“赦免” 一只火鸡，让它颐养天年。今年，共和党副总统候选人佩林获得一个农场邀请，担任“赦免火鸡” 的贵宾。不过，讽刺的是，当佩林赦免完一只 15 公斤重的火鸡之后，在接受采访大谈大选生活时，镜头中她身后的一名男子正满手是血，一只接一只地宰杀火鸡。 8. Plaxicos off-the-field injury Sometimes you really shoot yourself in the foot. Or thigh, if youre New York Giants wide receiver
24、 Plaxico Burress. Burress, 31, who caught the winning touchdown in the Giants Super Bowl victory in February, was hanging out in a New York City nightclub when the Glock semi-automatic pistol he had holstered in his sweatpants dropped and discharged a bullet into his right thigh. Catching a pigskin
25、while a throng of hulking men are bearing down on you? No problem. Catching a gun dropping down your pants? Tricky. Burress injuries were minor but, as far New York State law is concerned, the incident wasnt. He has been charged with possession of an unregistered handgun and faces a mandatory senten
26、ce of three and a half years in state prison. Burresss lawyer told reporters his client would “deal with the legal process in a responsible and professional manner.“ The Giants, meanwhile, have suspended Burress for the rest of the season. He is scheduled to return to court March 31. 第八、纽约巨人队队员自残 31
27、 岁的纽约巨人队队员普拉西科布雷斯今年 2 月曾带枪进入一家夜总会，不料当他把手伸进裤口袋时，不小心扣动了扳机，击中自己的大腿，被送往医院治疗。布雷斯的伤势并不严重，但却被控告无证持枪，面临三年半监禁。 9. Aerial duo parachute into wrong stadium Duke University officials were caught off guard in August when, an hour before a football game kickoff, two men parachuted into the stadium and landed at t
28、he 35-yard line with a ball. “All we know is, they must have missed their jump site,“ a Duke official said. They had. The parachuters were supposed to drop eight miles away and deliver the ball to the University of North Carolina. Apparently the jumpers delayed the leap into the UNC stadium because
29、of some nasty weather. When the clouds finally parted, the skydivers went for it realizing only when they hit the turf at Duke that they were in the wrong stadium. 第九、足球送到错误赛场 今年 8 月，美国大学足球比赛开始前一个小时，两名男子乘降落伞抱着一个足球降落在杜克大学赛场上。但是此时杜克大学赛场上已经有了比赛用球。原来，他们是为北卡罗来纳大学送球，但是因为天气原因降落错了赛场。 10. Obama accused of be
30、ing Obama impersonator When Florida Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen got a call in November from someone claiming to be President-elect Obama, the Republican Congresswoman thought she was being pranked and hung up. Then Obamas chief of staff, Rahm Emmanuel, called Ros-Lehtinen to let her know she
31、had actually been speaking with the future president. Ros-Lehtinen, still convinced it was a hoax, hung up on Emmanuel, too. Finally, California Representative Howard Berman called the Congresswoman, who asked the Democrat to recount a story only the two of them would know. Berman did and then infor
32、med Ros-Lehtinen that she had, in fact, hung up on Obama. When the president-elect called again, Ros-Lehtinen said he was either “very gracious“ to reach across the aisle or “had run out of folks to call if you are truly calling me.“ And if not, she said, Saturday Night Live “could use a good Obama impersonator like you.“ 第十、女议员两度挂断奥巴马电话 佛罗里达州共和党籍女议员伊利安娜罗斯- 莱赫蒂宁两度挂断奥巴马的电话，一时轰动世界。莱赫蒂宁事后表示，她以为又是谁搞的恶作剧，而且她还认为电话中模仿奥巴马的人模仿得非常像
