第二场电视辩论 谁赢了？[E507]
(The opinions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of the authors.)
Jeff Yang: Moderators were winners, Trump was not
It's hard to imagine that there are pundits[1] who are calling this debate a draw[平局]-- or even a "victory on points" for Trump. He blustered[2], he blathered[3], he blazed a scorched-earth trail of spite and fury[4] across the stage, and through it all, Clinton remained cool, collected[镇定的,冷静的,泰然自若的] and, dare I say it, presidential.
Every slur[5] and slander[6] from 30 years of unhinged[精神失常的,神经错乱的] Clinton hatred was dragged before the audience of "uncommitted voters" (is there really such a thing as a Muslim American uncommitted voter?). None of the attacks stuck, because they seemed nasty and irrelevant, and put Trump in the position of being a barker[大声招徕顾客者] for a particularly unpleasant sideshow[小节目,杂耍].
What did stick was the impression that even a modulated[改变了的;已调制的] Trump is entirely unfit for office. His fascistic[法西斯(主义)的] vow to investigate and jail Clinton upon election; his throwing of his running mate[竞选伙伴;(尤指)副总统候选人] Mike Pence under the runaway Trump Train; his inability to directly answer any of the moderators[主持人]' questions -- none of these could've given comfort to members of his party that a Trump win would be anything but Pyrrhic[7].
And as for the moderators[主持人] Anderson Cooper and Martha Raddatz: Did someone slip PEDs into their drinking water? This is the first time we've seen this kind of muscular, unyielding[坚定的;不屈服的] and disciplined questioning from the floorkeepers at a debate, and the demand that the candidates actually engage the topics being asked was bracing[清新的,令人心旷神怡的] and refreshing. More of the same at debate 3, please...if there is one after this utter fiasco[8] of a week for the Trump campaign.
Jeff Yang is a columnist for The Wall Street Journal and a frequent contributor to radio shows including Public Radio International's "The Takeaway" and WNYC's "The Brian Lehrer Show." He is the co-author of "I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action" and editor of the graphic novel anthologies "Secret Identities" and "Shattered."
······
注释
[1]pundit ['pʌndɪt]
a person who knows a lot about a particular subject and is therefore often asked to give an opinion about it （某方面的）专家，权威
a political/foreign-policy/sports pundit
政治／外交政策／体育权威
[2]bluster：to speak in a loud, angry, or offended way, usually with little effect 咆哮，气势汹汹地说（通常作用不大）
[ + speech ] "You had no right to do it, no right at all," he blustered.
“你没有权力那样做，根本没有权力，”他气势汹汹地吼道。
[3]blather：to talk for a long time in a silly or annoying way 喋喋不休地胡说；唠叨
What on earth are you blathering on about?
你究竟在胡说些什么？
Stop blethering, woman!
别再唠唠叨叨了，娘们儿！
[4]*blaze a scorched-earth trail of spite and fury
blaze a trail：to do something that has never been done before 开拓道路；起先导作用
Le Corbusier blazed a trail in architecture.
埃尔维斯‧普雷斯利在流行音乐领域开创了新潮流。
scorched-earth 焦土
spite and fury 仇恨和愤怒
[5]slur：a remark that criticizes someone and is likely to have a harmful effect on their reputation 诋毁，诽谤
Her letter contained several outrageous slurs against/on her former colleagues.
她信里有好几处肆意诋毁以前同事的内容。
[6]slander：a false spoken statement about someone that damages their reputation, or the making of such a statement 诽谤，诋毁
The doctor is suing his partner for slander.
那名医生将控告他的合伙人诽谤。
[7]*Pyrrhic ['pɪrɪk]
Pyrrhic victory：a victory that is not worth winning because the winner has lost so much in winning it 以极大代价换取的胜利，得不偿失的胜利
She won the court case, but it was a Pyrrhic victory because she had to pay so much in legal fees.
她赢了这场官司，但赢得得不偿失，因为她得支付高额诉讼费。
[8]fiasco [fi'æskəʊ]
something planned that goes wrong and is a complete failure, usually in an embarrassing way 完全失败；尴尬的结局
The show was a fiasco - one actor forgot his lines and another fell off the stage.
演出彻底搞砸了，灯光不亮，一个演员忘了台词，另一个跌下了舞台。
······
相关阅读
Poll: Hillary Clinton wins first presidential debate
······