Combining democracy and mass culture, the format is archetypally American, yet has proved to be highly exportable. Even more people likely watch their own pre-election debates abroad— including, with encouragement from America’s non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates, in fledgling African and Eastern European democracies—than tune in to America’s. These are not trivial accomplishments. Setting aside many moments of dullness and inanity, the four-yearly televised event is an enactment of American democracy and an advertisement for it of which Americans should be proud. But they can forget that for now.
总统电视辩论的形式结合了民主与大众文化，是典型的美国形式，然而事实证明，它具有很高的可输出性。甚至有更多的海外人口想观看自己国家的选前辩论。包括非洲和东欧民主国家也新采用了这一形式，尽管美国无党派总统辩论委员会鼓励海外人口观看美国辩论，但他们也还是想看自己国家的，不想看美国的。这些输出算得上是不平凡的成就了。抛开许多沉闷和无聊的时刻，这个四年一次的总统电视辩论活动是美国民主的一次宣示和广告，美国人应该引以为豪。但现在，他们可以忘记这一点了。
Debating Hillary Clinton in 2016, Mr Trump strained the rules to the limit; he interrupted and physically intimidated his opponent (and promised to jail her). In Cleveland he largely ignored them. He interrupted, contradicted and traduced Joe Biden, and sometimes also the moderator, Chris Wallace of Fox News. He cavilled and scowled; he huffed and he ranted. The ferocity of his claimed grievances was formidable. It was also ludicrous. It might once even have seemed comical, were he not America’s president.
在2016年与希拉里·克林顿的辩论中，特朗普就已经逼近了规则的底线。他打断希拉里讲话、进行人身威胁（并承诺要将她关进监狱）。而这次在克利夫兰，特朗普更是无视规则。他对乔·拜登进行打断、反驳和诋毁，甚至有时也会打断主持人。他事事挑剔、皱着眉头、怒不可遏、冷嘲热讽。他的满腹牢骚和凶狠至极让人害怕。也同样很可笑。如果他不是美国总统，这可能一度看起来很滑稽。
His criticisms of his Democratic rival were familiar, mostly or wholly inaccurate, and often contradictory. He accused Mr Biden of being so tough on crime that he had alienated African-Americans and so weak on it that he refused even to utter the phrase “law and order”. He accused him of being so enslaved to the left that he was pushing the left-wing policies, such as Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, that belonged to the Democratic rivals he trounced in his party’s primaries. When Mr Biden pushed back, Mr Trump crowed that he had “just lost the left”.
特朗普对民主党对手的批评都是耳熟能详的，大多或完全是不正确的，而且常常自相矛盾。在犯罪问题上，他一会批评拜登过于强硬，以至于疏远了非洲裔美国人；一会又说拜登过于软弱，以至拒绝说出“法律和秩序”这一短语。特朗普指责拜登对左翼卑躬屈膝，极力推行一系列左翼政策，比如全民医保政策和绿色新政，这些政策都是党内初选时拜登痛击的民主党对手所推行的。当拜登反击时，特朗普又得意地高呼“拜登失去了左翼的支持”。
But many of his attacks were more personal. He suggested Mr Biden was unintelligent and levelled unsubstantiated corruption allegations at his surviving son. At times Mr Biden responded in intemperate kind—he called the president a racist, a liar, a clown and enjoined him: “Will you shut up, man?” But this was not a two-way fight. Mr Biden’s rehearsed chuckling forbearance was more striking in the moment than his insults. And Mr Wallace’s increasingly desperate remonstrations were almost exclusively aimed at the president.
但特朗普的许多攻击是针对个人的。他暗示拜登智商低，并对拜登健在的儿子进行未经证实的腐败指控。有时，拜登也会反映过激，他称特朗普总统是种族主义者、骗子、小丑，并责令：“你能闭嘴吗，老兄？”但总统辩论并不是一场对骂的斗争。此时此刻，拜登表现出的轻笑隐忍远比辱骂回应更令人印象深刻。而主持人华莱士也愈加忍无可忍，他提出的批评几乎是完全针对特朗普总统的。
译文由可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
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