PBS高端访谈:为什么拜登的2016总统竞选之路宣告结束

 　　GWEN IFILL: It has been a months-long waiting game, but now that we know Vice¹ President Biden will not make another run for the White House, what drove his decision, and what does it mean for the rest of the 2016 field?

　　Glenn Thrush, the chief political correspondent for Politico, has been covering this, and in many ways was able to see around the corner in this magazine profile earlier this year, "Joe Biden in Winter."Glenn joins me now.

　　So, after all the ups and the downs and the speculation², no go. Why?

　　GLENN THRUSH, Politico: No, I mean, there is a number of reasons, sort of bifurcated³ between his emotional life and this terrible tragedy that he suffered with the death of his 46-year-old son, Beau, in May, but also there was really no political path.

　　Biden is sort of a political procrastinator⁴. He's a very improvisational⁵ politician and he really waited too long. Hillary Clinton's performance in the first debate and this commensurate rise in the polls that she saw afterwards simply left him with no path.

　　GWEN IFILL: Your story that you posted this afternoon, you quote someone as saying that all the meetings, all the speculation, all the ways they were running traps was more fantasy football than football.

　　GLENN THRUSH: Yes, I think he was really confined to a relatively⁶ small group of advisers⁷. Shouldn't surprise folks who know the way that Biden operates, a lot of his family.

　　His son Hunter, his remaining son, was really pushing him for this. Also, Mike Donilon, a longtime aide from Delaware, was pushing this. But the rest of the family was fairly ambivalent⁸ and his larger circle of advisers were more facilitating what he wanted to do, but I think many of them over time came to believe that he ultimately wouldn't go for it.

　　GWEN IFILL: Another thing that you wrote in your earlier piece, it talked about one of his friends and advisers saying that in his career Joe Biden had climbed almost all the way to the top, and then someone moved the ladder.

　　GLENN THRUSH: Can you imagine what that must feel like?

　　GWEN IFILL: Yes.

　　GLENN THRUSH: This is a guy who has done everything — quote, unquote — "right."The problem is, at some point, he reached, I think, his own ceiling. The 1988 presidential campaign, which was disastrous⁹ for him, he was accused of plagiarizing¹⁰ Neil Kinnock's speeches, a U.K. politician.

　　GWEN IFILL: Yes.

　　GLENN THRUSH: Really, I think that was his moment. In 2008, he ran a very bad presidential campaign. I think Biden is really an example of, when a politician has a moment and they cannot capitalize on that moment, the rest of their career really is a postscript¹¹.

　　GWEN IFILL: What was the significance of doing this in the Rose Garden with not only his wife, but President Obama by his side?

　　GLENN THRUSH: Well, the initial significance for those of us who were still wondering what was happening, we knew then he was going to say no. He wasn't going to say yes standing¹² next to the president.

　　But I think the significance is that Joe Biden views himself as both a family man, as symbolized¹³ by his wife — getting Jill on board was one of the big challenges for this. And he never really quite closed the deal with his own wife.

　　But the more important point here is, he views himself very much as a partner with President Obama, and that relationship, which really had its ups an downs in the first term, has really deepened into something more personal. I have been told…GWEN IFILL: He went out of his way today to embrace that legacy¹⁴.

　　GLENN THRUSH: Yes. And apparently¹⁵ after this, they embraced in the Oval Office. It was sort of a tearful moment.

　　And the president, I am told, has been very, very concerned about Biden's state of mind subsequent to Beau Biden's death. This is something that really weighs on everyone.

　　GWEN IFILL: So he said today the window had closed.

　　Was it Hillary Clinton basically who closed the window?

　　GLENN THRUSH: I think she sort of slammed it on his fingers.

　　If Hillary Clinton had performed badly in that first debate or there had been more damaging revelations about the e-mails that had come out, I think we might be dealing¹⁶ with a different fact set. But my sense is that really did it.

　　GWEN IFILL: And she went out of her way, we can take a look, to be very gracious in her response to him.

　　She said, among other things: "Joe Biden is a good man and a great vice president. I'm confident that history isn't finished with Joe Biden. As he said today, there is more work to do, and if I know Joe, he will always be on the front lines, always fighting for all of us."Now, let's just talk polls. With Joe Biden out of the race, Hillary Clinton can afford to be as gracious as she is.

　　GLENN THRUSH: Oh, absolutely.

　　I think it is a good day. I'm sure she had a nice cup of tea and watched this thing several times. Look, in all of the polls that we have seen, Biden takes away from Hillary Clinton's support in battleground states and nationally as well. So what this means is that I think it's quite likely we are going to see a bump in the national polls and in New Hampshire and in Iowa for Hillary Clinton.

　　GWEN IFILL: No Bernie Sanders bump out of this? None of the people who are supporting Bernie Sanders were drawing toward Biden?

　　GLENN THRUSH: Yes, Biden is a fairly centrist — you could make the argument Joe Biden, in the longer span of his career, has actually been more conservative than Hillary Clinton on a lot of things.

　　He has tacked¹⁷ to the left, as everyone in the Democratic Party has recently, but Biden's affiliation¹⁸ is with the white working-class voters. And Bernie Sanders much more appeals to the sort of coastal¹⁹ elites²⁰. I think Sanders will see a little bit of a bump, because I'm sure some supporters will flock to him. But I think Hillary Clinton is the one who is going to be the predominant recipient²¹.

　　GWEN IFILL: And, finally, the vice president seemed to signal today this is not the end of his career. He still wants to be heard.

　　Is there any history of a second-term vice president who is not running for president being heard after finally withdrawing?

　　GLENN THRUSH: I think you make a very good point here. I think his moment of maximum leverage²² has passed.

　　I think the one thing that is left is an endorsement²³. As we know — and I covered Hillary Clinton in 2007 and 2008 — there are a lot of bumps left in this road, and she will need to pull some endorsements²⁴ out of her pocket during times of need. I think the final card that he has to play is an endorsement.

　　GWEN IFILL: Well, we will be all waiting for that, that it will have a huge impact, perhaps, perhaps not.

　　That's the thing we like about campaigns, Glenn Thrush of Politico. Thank you very much.

　　GLENN THRUSH: Great being here.

 

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

3 bifurcated   

a.分为两部分

参考例句：

• Over the past 15 years the marketplace for art books has bifurcated. 过去15年里，卖艺术类书籍的市场逐渐分化。
• This bifurcated view was reflected in how U.S. officials described the trip. 这种一分为二的观点也反映在美国官员自己对访华之行的描述上。

4 procrastinator   

n. 拖延者, 拖拉者, 因循者

参考例句：

• General Peckem's communications about cleanliness and procrastination made Major Major feel like a filthy procrastinator. 佩克姆将军谈到清洁和拖延的那些简报，使梅杰少校感到自己象一个邋遢的、作风拖拉的家伙。
• This is also a great help if you are a procrastinator. 如果你是一个拖拉的人，这样会对你很有帮助。

5 improvisational   

adj. 即兴的

参考例句：

• I have never been at games like charades or improvisational acting. 您从来都唔擅长玩“有口难言”或者“即席表演”之类既游戏。
• I'm practicing self-control, those random and improvisational acts aren't allowed. 我在练习控制自己，那些随意的、即兴的举动是不允许的。

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

7 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

8 ambivalent   

adj.含糊不定的；(态度等)矛盾的

参考例句：

• She remained ambivalent about her marriage.她对于自己的婚事仍然拿不定主意。
• Although she professed fear of the Russians,she seemed to have ambivalent feelings toward Philby himself.虽然她承认害怕俄国人，然而她似乎对菲尔比本人有一种矛盾的感情。

9 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

10 plagiarizing   

v.剽窃，抄袭( plagiarize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was accused of plagiarizing his colleague's results. 他被指控剽窃同事的成果。
• Moderates are plagiarizing his ideas in hopes of wooing voters. 温和派为讨好选民在盗用他的观点。 来自辞典例句

11 postscript   

n.附言，又及；(正文后的)补充说明

参考例句：

• There was the usual romantic postscript at the end of his letter.他的信末又是一贯的浪漫附言。
• She mentioned in a postscript to her letter that the parcel had arrived.她在信末附笔中说包裹已寄到。

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 symbolized   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• For Tigress, Joy symbolized the best a woman could expect from life. 在她看，小福子就足代表女人所应有的享受。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• A car symbolized distinction and achievement, and he was proud. 汽车象征着荣誉和成功，所以他很自豪。 来自辞典例句

14 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

15 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

16 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

17 tacked   

用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝

参考例句：

• He tacked the sheets of paper on as carefully as possible. 他尽量小心地把纸张钉上去。
• The seamstress tacked the two pieces of cloth. 女裁缝把那两块布粗缝了起来。

18 affiliation   

n.联系，联合

参考例句：

• There is no affiliation between our organization and theirs,even though our names are similar.尽管两个组织的名称相似，但我们之间并没有关系。
• The kidnappers had no affiliation with any militant group.这些绑架者与任何军事组织都没有紧密联系。

19 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

20 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

21 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

22 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

23 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

24 endorsements   

n.背书( endorsement的名词复数 )；（驾驶执照上的）违章记录；（公开的）赞同；（通常为名人在广告中对某一产品的）宣传

参考例句：

• He must make much money on those tennis shoe endorsements he does. 他替那些网球鞋珍重广告，就赚了不少钱。 来自互联网
• But celebrity endorsements remain an important promotional tool for marketers. 尽管如此，邀明星助阵仍是营销人员重要的推广手段之一。 来自互联网