2008 美国总统竞选辩论(第一场)中英版

LEHRER: All right, let's go to the next lead question, which is essentially following up on this same subject.

主持人：好，让我们进入下一个引导问题。这个引导问题实质上是第一个问题的深化。
And you get two minutes to begin with, Senator McCain. And using your word "fundamental," are there fundamental differences between your approach and Senator Obama's approach to what you would do as president to lead this country out of the financial crisis?

主持人：麦凯恩议员，（这）两分钟从你那里开始。（我）用你的词语"本质"。如果作为总统，领导这个国家走出经济危机，你的方法和奥巴马议员的方法有什么本质上的区别？

MCCAIN: Well, the first thing we have to do is get spending under control in Washington. It's completely out of control. It's gone -- we have now presided over the largest increase in the size of government since the Great Society.

麦凯恩：呃，我们得做的第一件事情就是控制华盛顿（注：指美国政府）的开销。它（开销）完全无法控制了。它已经脱缰而出--我们现在是眼巴巴地看着（我们）建国以来政府规模最大的膨胀。
We Republicans came to power to change government, and government changed us. And the -- the worst symptom on this disease is what my friend, Tom Coburn, calls earmarking as a gateway drug, because it's a gateway. It's a gateway to out-of-control spending and corruption.

我们共和党人拥有了改变政府的力量，而政府也改变了我们。而--这种病最坏的症状，正如我的朋友，汤姆.科本所说，财政特别拨款是一种入门毒品，因为那是一扇门，一扇通向不受控制的花销和腐败的大门。
（注：麦凯恩这里没有说只有民主党人有腐败，而是坦诚说道共和党人也有人中毒了。gateway drug: 有一种假设，认为服用不大容易上瘾的药品可能会引人服用更加危险的毒品甚至引人犯罪。香烟、酒精等常常被人们称为gateway drug。我这里把它翻译为入门毒品。）

And we have former members of Congress now residing in federal prison because of the evils of this earmarking and pork-barrel spending.

我们国会的一些前成员，因为在财政拨款和地方建设经费上犯的错误，现在正蹲在联邦监狱里面。

You know, we spent $3 million to study the DNA of bears in Montana. I don't know if that was a criminal issue or a paternal issue, but the fact is that it was $3 million of our taxpayers' money. And it has got to be brought under control.

你知道吗，我们花费了300万美元，用在研究蒙大纳州的熊的DNA上面。我不知道这究竟是（有人）犯罪还是家长式作风，但事实上是，那可是我们纳税人的300万美元呐。那应该被控制住。
（注：蒙大纳州：美国西北部与加拿大接壤的一个州。1889年被接纳为美国第41个州。大部分地区通过1803年路易斯安那的购买归属美国，路易斯和克拉克在1805年和1806年勘查了此地。经过多年在其他西部地区分裂之后在1864年组成蒙大纳地区。赫勒拿是该州首府，比林斯是最大城市。人口803,655）

As president of the United States, I want to assure you, I've got a pen. This one's kind of old. I've got a pen, and I'm going to veto every single spending bill that comes across my desk. I will make them famous. You will know their names.

（如果我）作为美国的总统，我要向你们保证--我有一只钢笔，这只有几分旧了--我有一只钢笔，而我将会否决掉每一笔经过我办公桌的开销提议。我会让它们臭名昭著。你们将知道它们的名字。
Now, Senator Obama, you wanted to know one of the differences. He has asked for $932 million of earmark pork-barrel spending, nearly a million dollars for every day that he's been in the United States Senate.

现在，奥巴马议员，你想要知道我们的一个区别。他（奥巴马）已经请求了9.32亿美元的财政拨款，自他当上美国议员后的每一天几乎都要走了100万美元。

I suggest that people go up on the Web site of Citizens Against Government Waste, and they'll look at those projects.

我建议人们登陆反对政府浪费公民网，就会看到（奥巴马）那些项目。

That kind of thing is not the way to rein in runaway spending in Washington, D.C. That's one of the fundamental differences that Senator Obama and I have.

那样的事情不是让华盛顿的开销放慢下来的做法。这就是我和奥巴马议员的一个本质的区别。