One of the unexpected stars of Wednesday night's U.S. presidential debate turned out to be someone who was not even on the stage in New York. A man called "Joe the Plumber" was mentioned a total of 23 times by the candidates, who each tried to use him to make their arguments. Who "Joe the Plumber" is and what role he might play in the remaining 19 days of the presidential race.
美国经济疲软，金融危机扩散，这些问题目前是美国朝野最热门的话题，更是总统竞选争论的焦点。不过，人们都注意到，随着大选日的临近，特别是在民主党总统候选人奥巴马与共和党总统候选人麦凯恩举行的最后一场电视辩论中，双方为了阐明自己的经济政策，竟然把“水暖工乔”("Joe the Plumber)这个名字先后提了23次。“水暖工乔”究竟是谁？他将在投票前的19天里扮演什么角色？
Sam Joe Wurzelbacher unknowingly stepped into the election spotlight when he met Senator Obama as the Democratic nominee campaigned Sunday in Toledo, Ohio. The bald, brawny plumber asked Obama about his plan to increase taxes for people who earn more than $250,000 a year.
山姆.乔.沃泽尔巴赫(Sam Joe Wurzelbacher)上星期天在俄亥俄州特雷多市碰到了在当地竞选的民主党总统候选人奥巴马，这次偶遇让乔成了名人。这位肌肉发达的光头水暖工询问了奥巴马的税收计划。奥巴马主张增加高收入阶层的所得税。
Wurzelbacher explained that he wants to buy the small plumbing business where he works, and said he was worried that would put him into the upper tax bracket of Obama's plan.
沃泽尔巴赫说，他想买下他供职的小型水暖公司。但是他担心这样一来，他会变成奥巴马要加税的高收入阶层。
Obama acknowledged that that might be the case and said he did not want to punish the plumber with higher taxes, but said "... I think that when we spread the wealth around, it is good for everybody." The exchange was captured on video, and was aired on the conservative Fox News cable network, who interviewed the plumber.
奥巴马承认情况可能会是这样。他说，他不想用高税收惩罚这位水暖工。但是他说，“我认为当我们把财富分散的时候，所有人都有好处。”这段谈话被录像拍摄下来，并被保守派的福克斯电视台播放。福克斯还采访了这位水暖工。
Early in Wednesday's debate, Senator John McCain brought up Wurzelbacher, and repeatedly used him as an example to attack Obama's plan, which Senator McCain said would tax the wealthiest Americans, calling it "class warfare." McCain looked straight at the camera and spoke to Joe.
10月19日举行的最后一场总统竞选辩论开始不久后，麦凯恩参议员就提到了沃泽尔巴赫，并多次用他做例子攻击奥巴马的计划。麦凯恩说，这个计划将增加最富裕美国人的税收。他说，这是“阶级斗争”。麦凯恩盯着摄像机对乔说：
"Joe, I want to tell you, I will not only help you buy that business that you worked your whole life for and I will keep your taxes low and I will provide available and affordable health care for you and your employees," he said. "And I will not stand for a tax increase on small business income."
“乔，我来告诉你。我不仅会帮助你买下你为之奋斗一生的企业，我还会帮你保持低税收，我还会为你和你的雇员提供现成的和廉价的医疗保险。我坚决反对增加小企业税收。”
Obama defended his tax plan, saying he had explained to Joe at the rally that 98 percent of small businesses make less than $250,000 a year.
奥巴马捍卫了他的税收计划。他说，他在竞选集会上向乔解释说，美国98%的小企业一年挣不到25万美元。
"What I essentially said to him was, five years ago, when you were not in a position to buy your business, you needed a tax cut then," he said. "And what I want to do is to make sure that the plumber, the nurse, the firefighter, the teacher, the young entrepreneur who does not yet have money, I want to give them a tax break now. And that requires us to make some important choices."
他说：“我实际上已经告诉了乔，五年前，当你没有能力买这家公司的时候，你需要减税。我想做的是帮助所有没有太多钱的水暖工、护士、消防队员、教师、年轻的创业者，让他们获得减税。这样做需要我们做一些重要的选择。”
Both candidates then continued to direct their answers to "Joe the Plumber" throughout much of the debate, using him as a symbol of an ordinary American as they outlined their health care plans and detailed how they might effect Joe.
两位候选人在随后的辩论中继续多次对水暖工乔直接喊话。他们还用乔作为典型美国人，解释他们各自的医疗保险计划会怎么样影响普通美国百姓。
The 34-year-old single father was watching the debate at home in his living room, and said he was surprised to hear his name mentioned so many times. As the debate continued, his phone began ringing, with journalists trying to contact him.
这位34岁的单亲爸爸当时正坐在客厅里看辩论。他说，他对自己的名字被提到这么多次感到吃惊。辩论仍在进行的时候，他的电话开始响了起来，一些记者希望采访他。
In one interview, he would not say who he is planning to vote for, but had this commentary after the debate.
在其中的一次采访中，沃泽尔巴赫没说想把票投给谁，但是他这样评价两位候选人的表现。
"I think McCain did much better this time, he really got out his points," said Wurzelbacher. "So, I was pleased with that. I mean Obama, you cannot take away that he is just a very, he is a damned good speaker. But McCain came across with some solid points and I was real happy about that. He came across with his tax cuts, which I think are ultimately very good."
他说：“我认为麦凯恩这次表现的更好。他表达了自己的观点。所以，我感到很高兴。奥巴马，你不能否认他是个很好的演说家。但是，麦凯恩说出一些很有力的观点，我对此感到高兴。他的减税计划，我认为非常好。”
Wurzelbacher said he is skeptical of Obama.
沃泽尔巴赫说，他对奥巴马还是有点怀疑。
"Obama, I mean he sits there and says he wants to help the middle class, but you know I am middle class," he said. "You have seen my house. You know I do not have any bells and whistles [fancy things] in here really. And you know, my truck is a couple of years old and I am going to have it for the, you know, next 10 years, probably. So, you know, I do not see him helping me out."
他说：“奥巴马坐在那里说他要帮助中产阶级。我就是中产阶级。你看到了我的房子。我没有太多奢侈品。我的卡车已经买了两年了，我可能还得再开10年。所以，我不认为奥巴马会帮我的忙。”
On Thursday, Wurzelbacher held news conferences in front of a crowd of reporters gathered in his suburban Toledo, Ohio driveway. He said all the media attention made him feel like "Britney Spears with a headache." He said the McCain campaign had asked him to attend a weekend rally, but he already had plans to travel to New York.
星期四，家住特雷多郊区的沃泽尔巴赫在他的停车坪上举行了一个记者会。他说，媒体对他的关注让他觉得自己像是个得了头痛病的流行歌星。他说，麦凯恩竞选班底已经邀请他参加本周末的一次集会，但他事先已经计划去纽约旅行。
On the campaign trail, McCain's vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin also talked about "Joe and Jane the Plumber" to attack Obama's tax plan, a sign that Joe may be invoked many times in the last days of the campaign.
麦凯恩的副总统候选人萨拉.佩林在攻击奥巴马税收计划的时候也提到了水暖工乔。很显然，乔的名字在未来三个星期的选举中还将被多次提到。 |