Presidential Debates
Debates among candidates are rare in most countries. But they have become a staple1 of American politics, particularly during the last 25 years. Americans like debates becau the candidates can be compared in an unscripted, live performance. The candidates don't know what questions will be asked, nor what their opponent might say. History indicates that a bad performance, particularly a telling gaffe2, can badly damage a candidate in the polls. The debates are a “ key test” of the strength and abilities of the candidates, says CNN analyst Jeff Greenfield. A candidate cannot package himlf in debates the way he can in party advertiments but must be quick on his feet3 to respond to unanticipated4 questions and criticisms, he adds.
The unforgettable debate quip5 that can deflate6 a candidacy is the worst nightmare of any presidential hopeful.“ There you go again” , Ronald Reagan's memorable retort7 to President Jimmy Carter, was a line8 that stuck with both viewers and commentators in the l980 presidential campaign. Carter went on to lo the election, polls showed mostly becau
of the economy. But Carter's debate performance didn't help. Another example was Vice President Walter Mondale's deadly question to Senator Gary Hart, his main competitor in the 1984 Democratic primaries, “ Where's the beef?” Mondale borrowed the line from a hamburger commercial that had ud the phra to suggest that competing products shortchanged9 the consumer. Mondale, in effect, suggested that Hart's ideas were short on substance.
The potential of debates to damage a vulnerable presidential hopeful is one reason why some candidates, particularly frontrunners10, are reluctant to risk their chances in such an uncontrolled environment--and the fewer debate rules there are,the less control the candidates have.But broadcast presidential debates,both in the primaries and in the general election,are now routine and expected by the American people.
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ot always so. Face-to-face presidential debates began their broadcast history in 1948 when Republicans Thomas Dewey and Harold Stasn faced each other in a radio debate during the Oregon Republican presidential primary. The first broadcast television
debates between the two major party nominees were in 1960 when Senator John F. Kennedy faced Vice President Richard Nixon.The debates were considered crucial to Kennedy’ s narrow11 victory. Interestingly, Americans who heard the debate on radio thought Nixon had won. But the far larger television audience applauded Kennedy's performance, testimony to the importance--in the television age--of image as well as substance. The point is Americans are concerned not just with a leader's policies and ideology12, but also with his character and temperam草药有哪些
ent13. In the contentious14 atmosphere of a debate, such personal 阿q范文网
attributes15 are easier for voters to judge than in pre-packaged campaign commercials or formal speeches. Becau television debates were deemed so crucial to the outcome of the 1960 election--dooming Richard Nixon to a narrow loss in the opinion of many analysts--the presidential nominees in the subquent three presidential elections shield16 away from debates, feeling the risks were too great. Not until 1976 when Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter confronted President Gerald Ford was there another presidential debate. Since then, there have been debates in each of the presiden tial election years. The American people now expect them and it is doubtful
a candidate could refu to participate, analysts say.
Since 1987, the presidential debates have been organized by the bipartisan17 organization, the Commission on Presidential Debates. Its purpo is to sponsor and produce debates for the presidential and vice presidential candidates of the two major parties. In Election 2000, the commission t a threshold18 for the participation of third party candidates in the debates. They must show they have the support--as evidenced in a number of opinion polls--of at least 15 percent of the population.
Whatever the quality of the debates in Election 2000, they are unlikely to equal the most famous political debates in American history which occurred long before the invention of radio and television. In 1858, Stephen Douglas debated Abraham Lincoln for a U.S. Senate at. The debates were held at ven sites throughout Illinois, one for each of the ven congressional districts. Douglas, a pro-slavery Democrat,was the incumbent19.Lincoln was anti-slavery. “ Honest Abe,” as he was endearingly called, lost the Senate race, but two years later was elected the first Republican president of the United States.
The Lincoln Douglas debates are still heralded20 for the quality of the discour at a crucial time in the nation's history.
总统辩论
候选人之间的辩论在大多数国家都很稀奇，但它们在美国政治生活中已司空见惯，特别是在过去的25年里。美国人喜欢辩论，因为他们可以根据候选人现场的即席发言，对他们进行比较。候选人不知道人们将会向他们提出什么问题，也不知道对手将会怎样回答。历史表明，如果候选人表现不佳，特别是失言之举，会使他们在大选中严重受损。CNN的分析家杰夫格林菲尔德说，辩论是对候选人的实力和能力的“严峻考验”。他还补充说，在辩论中，候选人不能够像在制作本党竞选广告那样包装自己，而必须迅速对事先毫无准备的问题和批评做出回答。
那些人们津津乐道的令候选人感到灰心丧气的讽刺挖苦，对于任何有可能成为总统的人，都是一场噩梦。罗纳德里根那句著名的回击吉米卡特总统的话：“Thereyougoagain”，成为1980年总统选举中观众和评论家的一句口头禅。卡特后来在选举中失败，民意测验表明，这主要是由于经济原因，但卡特在辩论中的表现也没帮上他的忙。另外还有一个例子。
在1984年的民主党初选中，副总统沃尔特蒙代尔向他的主要竞选对手，参议员加里哈特提出了一个致命的问题：“Where'sthebeef?”这句话是蒙代尔借用了一则汉堡包的广告词，这句广告词暗示说，那些与之竞争的产品偷工减料，欺骗了消费者。而蒙代尔实际上是暗示哈特的主张缺乏实质性内容。
辩论有可能对一个脆弱的总统候选人造成伤害，这就是一些总统候选人，特别是那些在竞选中领先的人，不愿意在这些无法控制的环境中冒险的原因之一——辩论的规则越少，候选人就越无法控制。但是，不管是在初选，还是在大选中，总统电视辩论现在都已经成为惯例，且为美国人民所期待。
情形并非一直如此。对面对面的总统辩论加以转播，始于1948年。那一年，共和党人托马斯杜威和哈罗德史塔生在俄勒冈州的共和党总统候选人初选中，进行了一场面对面的广播辩论。两大政党提名人间的第一场电视辩论是在1960年，由参议员约翰F肯尼迪对副总统理查德尼克松。人们认为这场辩论对肯尼迪以微弱优势取得胜利起了至关重要的作用。有趣的是，那些从广播中收听辩论的人认为尼克松赢了。而更多的人是从电视中收看辩论的，他们对肯尼迪的表现大加称赞。这也证明了，在电视时代，形象与内容一样重要。
问题的关键是，美国人不仅关心一位领导人的政策和思想，而且关心他的性格和气质。这种个人特性，在辩论的争吵气氛中比事先包装的竞选广告或正式讲演更容易让选民做出评判。由于人们认为电视辩论对1960年的竞选结果起了至关重要的作用——许多分析家认为它导致了尼克松的惜败，在以后连续三届总统竞选中，获得总统候选人提名者都慑于辩论的风险太大而加以躲避。直到1976年乔治亚州州长吉米卡特迎战总统杰拉尔德福特，才恢复了总统辩论。自那时起，每逢总统大选年，都会安排辩论。分析家说，由于美国人现在期待着总统辩论，大概没有哪一个候选人能够拒绝参加。
自1987年以来，总统辩论由共和、民主两党组成的“总统辩论委员会”组织实施。它的作用是，发起并实施两大党总统和副总统候选人辩论。在2000年竞选中，该委员会规定了第三党候选人参加辩论的条件：他们必须在多次民意测验中证明，至少拥有15％的选民支持率。
不管2000年的竞选辩论质量如何，它们都不大可能与美国历史上最著名的政治辩论相比，那时世界上还没有发明收音机和电视。1858年，斯蒂芬道格拉斯与亚伯拉罕林肯为竞选美国参议员席位，展开辩论。辩论在伊利诺伊州的七个国会选区举行，每区举行一场。
在职民主党参议员道格拉斯亲奴隶制，而林肯则持反奴隶制立场。被亲昵地称之为“诚实的埃布”的林肯在参议院选举中失败，但两年之后，却当选为美国第一位共和党总统。林肯与道格拉斯之间的辩论，在美国历史上关键时刻，因其演说质量而至今仍被人们称颂。
