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政治丑闻对政治人物影响有多大？

A hurricane that has slammed into the United States has taken attention away from the race for president - as both major political parties select their nominees¹ over the next 10 days. But a recent storm of a different kind serves as a reminder² that mistakes and scandals have often had an impact on America’s political campaigns.

在美国，政治选举和政治丑闻多年来都是如影随形，今年也不例外。那么政治丑闻对于政治人物的影响到底有多大呢？

Just as Republicans were preparing to introduce Mitt³ Romney to the nation, a little known U.S. Senate candidate sparked a controversy⁴.

首先我们来看看先前鲜为人知的共和党国会议员托德?阿金。

Congressman⁵ Todd Akin⁶ was asked if abortion⁷ should be allowed for a victim of rape⁸.

阿金在不久前竞选参议员的时候说：

“If it is a legitimate⁹ rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” Akin said.

“如果是真正的强奸案，女性身体会关闭生殖功能。”

Democrats¹⁰ like President Barack Obama were quick to pounce¹¹. “The views expressed were offensive; rape is rape,” Obama said.

奥巴马总统等民主党人立刻做出反击。奥巴马总统说：“这个观点不尊重妇女，强奸就是强奸。”

Akin apologized, but the damage was done as the media spotlight¹² shifted for Romney.

阿金虽然道了歉，可是影响已经造成，分散了媒体对共和党总统候选人罗姆尼的关注。

“The timing¹³ could not be worse. The last thing Mitt Romney wants to focus on is abortion and social issues,” said Allan J. Lichtman, a political historian at American University.

美利坚大学政治历史学家艾伦?李齐曼说：“这件事发生得太不是时候，罗姆尼最不想谈的就是堕胎等社会问题。”

The Sea of Galilee, where the Bible says Jesus walked on water, was the location for yet another embarrassing event.

另一件丑闻发生在加利利海。圣经说，耶稣曾在加利利海水面上行走。

During an official trip to Israel, Republican Congressman Kevin Yoder decided¹⁴ to go skinny dipping. “It’s obviously a mistake and something I regret,” Yoder said.

共和党国会议员凯文?尤德在正式访问以色列的时候，决定在海里裸泳。他后来说：“这显然是个错误，我很后悔。”

Some mistakes cost candidates their careers.

有些错误会毁了候选人的前途。

Take Gary Hart. He was the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination¹⁵ in the 1988 election, but was suspected of marital¹⁶ infidelities.

比如加里?哈特，他是1988年总统大选民主党提名人中的领先者，可是被怀疑有婚外情。

He dared reporters to follow him and they discovered evidence that forced him out of the race, including this now-famous picture.

记者跟踪发现了他婚外情的证据，迫使他退出竞选。

“Incredibly, having a beautiful blonde sitting on his lap aboard a ship called 'Monkey Business.' How much worse can you get in terms of self-destructing?,” Lichtman said.

艾伦?李齐曼说：“难以置信，在一条叫做‘胡闹’的船上，一名金发女郎坐在他腿上。还有比这更糟的自我毁灭吗？”

Other politicians have survived scandal.

不过也有一些政客在丑闻中幸存下来。

Former Washington Mayor Marion Barry has been a politician for 40 years.

前华盛顿特区市长马里恩?巴里从政40年。

He was active in the civil rights movement with Dr. Martin Luther King.

他曾经活跃于马丁?路德?金的民权运动。

In 1990, however, he was captured on an FBI surveillance camera smoking crack cocaine¹⁷ and served six months in prison.

可是1990年，他被联邦调查局的监视器拍到吸可卡因，坐了6个月的牢。

Despite that setback¹⁸, he was reelected mayor for a fourth term and at age 76 is now a city councilman.

尽管如此，巴里后来再次赢得选举，第四次担任市长。他现在76岁了，仍是市议员。

“You sit and you look back and say why did I do this? What was going on in my head? You can’t do anything about that. That is done. What you can do is move forward,” Barry said.

他说：“你回头看看说，我为什么会那样做？我在想什么？可是你没法改变过去，只能往前走。”

The greatest recent example of a politician surviving scandal is former president Bill Clinton.

在政治丑闻中幸存的最佳例子是前总统克林顿。

Despite an affair with a White House intern¹⁹, he remains²⁰ a popular figure.

他虽然和白宫实习生发生婚外情，可是仍然深受欢迎。

“And now he is going to be a featured speaker at the Democratic convention and they consider him a big plus,” Lichtman said.

李齐曼说：“他是这次民主党全国代表大会的主要发言人，民主党认为他是一大法宝。”

It's anyone's guess when the next political scandal will erupt - or whether it will end in personal disgrace or political resurrection.

下一起政治丑闻什么时候发生？丑闻会给政客带来个人羞耻还是政治复生？没有人可以预料。