WEBVTT

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The next big event in the campaign will be the presidential debates, with the first one just a week away. 
選戰接下來的大事是總統辯論會，而首場總統辯論會就在一週之後。

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The candidates are busy playing the expectations game. John Berman tells us how they do it.
候選人正忙著操作預期遊戲。約翰．柏曼要告訴我們他們怎麼進行。

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The Obama campaign has spent months and millions trying to convince voters that Mitt Romney is unethical.
歐巴馬競選陣營花了幾個月和數百萬美元，設法要讓選民相信米特．羅姆尼有違道德。

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He won't release his tax returns before 2010.
他不會公布在二○一○年之前的報稅單。

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Unprepared.
還沒準備好。

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My opponent and his running mate are new to foreign policy.
我的對手和他的競選搭檔在外交政策上缺乏經驗。

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Unattached to reality.
與現實脫節。

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My thinking is maybe you haven't gotten around a lot.
在我認為或許你走訪的地方不多。

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With all those alleged problems, surely he has no chance of prevailing against President Obama in the debates, right? 
有全部這些所謂的問題，羅姆尼肯定沒機會在辯論會中擊敗歐巴馬了，對吧？

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Well, not according to the Obama campaign.
嗯，歐巴馬競選陣營可不這麼認為。

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Mitt Romney, I think, has an advantage because he's been through 20 of these debates in the primaries over the last year.
我認為米特．羅姆尼握有優勢，因為去年他在初選中經歷過了二十場像這樣的辯論會。

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The Romney team says President Obama is weak on foreign policy.
羅姆尼團隊說，歐巴馬總統在外交政策上能力不足。

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What we do not see is steady, consistent American leadership.
我們看到美國並沒有穩健、堅持的領導作風。

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Weak on the economy.
在經濟方面無力。

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He's in over his head, and he's swimming in the wrong direction. 
他不自量力，而且他昏頭搞錯方向了。

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And just plain weak overall.
反正什麼都弱就對了。

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The president today threw in the white flag of surrender again.
當今的總統又再次豎白旗投降了。

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With all those weaknesses, surely he would be easy to beat in a debate, right? 
有全部這些缺點，歐巴馬在辯論會中肯定會輕易被擊敗，對吧？

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Oh no. Not according to Mitt Romney.
喔，那可不。羅姆尼說並不會。

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I mean he's President of the United States. He's a very effective speaker.
我是說，他是美國總統，他是個能說善道的演講者。

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So follow this: Team Obama suggests Romney is a sure thing to win the debates. Team Romney says it's Obama. 
所以，聽仔細了：歐巴馬團隊暗指羅姆尼肯定會贏得辯論，羅姆尼團隊則說歐巴馬會獲勝。

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It's like that famous bizarro-world episode of Seinfeld.
這就像影集《歡樂單身派對》中有名的顛倒世界那集一樣。

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Up is down, down is up. He says hello when he leaves, good-bye when he arrives.
上即是下，下即是上。他離開時說你好，人到的時候說再見。

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But bizarro Seinfeld was funny; bizarro campaign, a cynical farce --
但是顛倒的《歡樂單身派對》很有趣；顛倒的選戰，卻像一齣譏諷挖苦的鬧劇——

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each side trying to set the expectations so high for the opponent they can't possibly be met.
雙方各自試圖為對手設下高到不可企及的期望。

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So low for the home team, merely speaking in a complete sentence would be a victory. It is a long-held tradition. 
對自家陣營的期望則是如此之低，只消說出一個完整的句子就算勝利。這是一個長久以來的傳統。

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An adviser to George W. Bush once called John Kerry the best debater since Cicero, 
小布希的一名顧問曾經稱約翰．凱瑞是希賽羅（註：古羅馬政治家、雄辯家）以來最厲害的辯論家，

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but it is a troubling tradition. No matter what they say about each other...
但這種傳統令人頭疼，不論他們怎麼說對方……

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Having been through this much more recently than President Obama, I think he starts with an advantage.
和歐巴馬總統相比，他近來經歷過不少辯論會，我想他一開始就佔了優勢。

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...elections are not graded on curves. Not even bizarro elections.
……選舉並非依照曲線來打分數，就連顛倒的選舉也不是。

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So, if you want still more proof that this whole thing is a farce, here's my guarantee:
所以如果您還要更多證據顯示這整件事都是場鬧劇，以下是我的保證：

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No matter what they're saying now about who will win, once the whole thing's over, both sides will claim victory no matter what.
不論他們現在說誰會贏，一旦辯論會結束後，雙方都會宣稱自己獲勝。