美国副总统候选人辩论会火药味十足

The vice-presidential nominees engaged in an animated and at times cutting debate Thursday, with Republican Rep. Paul Ryan delivering a biting critique of the Obama administration's response to violence in Libya and Iran's nuclear ambitions and Vice President Joe Biden attacking Republican budget-cutting and Medicare proposals.

美国民主、共和两党的副总统候选人周四开始了一场活跃且有时言辞尖锐的辩论，共和党副总统候选人保罗·莱恩(Paul Ryan)严厉批评奥巴马政府对利比亚暴力事件以及伊朗核野心的应对方式，而美国副总统拜登(Joe Biden)则攻击了共和党人有关预算削减和美国联邦医疗保险(Medicare)的提案。

The debate in Danville, Ky., the only planned onstage meeting between the two men, surfaced sharp differences over foreign policy, health care, the 2010 stimulus and other issues, stated in pointed language that marked a far-sharper exchange than displayed by the men at the top of the party tickets at a presidential debate last week.

这场在肯塔基州丹维尔(Danville)举行的辩论是莱恩和拜登这两位副总统候选人计划在选战中进行的唯一一次公开会面，辩论中两人在外交政策、医疗保健以及2010年的经济刺激措施等问题上表现出尖锐的分歧。两人在辩论中的言谈直截了当，言语交锋的“火药味远超两党总统候选人上周举行的辩论。

Vice-presidential debates don't typically leave a big impact on elections, but this one came at an unusually unsettled moment in the campaign, with Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney surging to a lead in many national polls and both parties wondering if his rise would be sustained.

虽然副总统候选人间的辩论通常不会对选情造成重大影响，但这场辩论发生在奥巴马与罗姆尼(Mitt Romney)两人难分胜负的非同寻常时刻。许多全国性民意调查显示，共和党总统候选人罗姆尼在上周与奥巴马举行辩论后其支持率已跃升至领先奥巴马的水平，现在两党都想搞清楚罗姆尼竞选势头的这种上升能否持续下去。

Mr. Romney's strong debate performance last week not only improved his image among voters, polls showed, but brought his campaign new donors and volunteers.

民意调查显示，罗姆尼在上周辩论中的强劲表现不仅提升了他在选民心目中的形象，还为他的选战吸引来了新的捐款人和志愿者。

It also raised the pressure on Mr. Biden to do well at Thursday's event in order to help his ticket regain momentum.

这一事态发展也增加了拜登肩上的压力，他必须在周四的辩论中有良好表现才能帮助奥巴马重振选举势头。

Mr. Biden often broke into a wide grin as his opponent spoke, and he showed a fighting spirit that contrasted with the unenergetic performance from Mr. Obama last week. At one, he called Mr. Ryan's comments on Libya 'a bunch of malarkey' and his critique of Mr. Obama's Iran policy 'a bunch of stuff.' Mr. Ryan answered with a series of steady critiques on Obama administration policy.

在周四的辩论中，当莱恩发言时，拜登常常咧嘴而笑，他在辩论中表现出的战斗精神与上周辩论中奥巴马不温不火的表现形成了鲜明对比。辩论中，他称莱恩有关利比亚的言论是“一派胡言，并将莱恩对奥巴马伊朗政策的批评斥之为“一堆废话。而莱恩则以对奥巴马政府政策的一连串坚定批评作为回应。

Messrs. Ryan and Romney clashed early in the debate over a question from moderator Martha Raddatz of ABC News about the Sept. 11 attack at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

辩论一开始，现场主持人、美国广播公司资讯频道(ABC News)记者拉达兹(Martha Raddatz)一个有关今年9月11日美国驻利比亚班加西领事馆遭遇袭击的问题就引发了莱恩和拜登的激烈交锋。这场袭击导致美国驻利比亚大使史蒂文斯(Christopher Stevens)和其他三名美国人遇害。

Mr. Ryan complained that it took President Barack Obama two weeks to acknowledge the assault was a terrorist attack, and said the administration failed to provide adequate security for diplomatic personnel in Libya.

莱恩抱怨说，奥巴马在事发两周后才承认这是一次恐怖袭击，他还说奥巴马政府没有向美国驻利比亚的外交人员提供足够的安全保护。

He then launched into a harsh assessment of the administration's foreign policy.

莱恩接着又对奥巴马政府的外交政策给予了言辞尖锐的评判。

'It makes us look more weak,' Mr. Ryan said after charging the administration failed to stand up for Iranian dissidents in 2010. 'It projects weakness.'

他在指责奥巴马政府在2010年没能坚定支持伊朗持不同政见者后说，这使得我们看上去更软弱；这让美国给人以软弱可欺的印象。

Mr. Biden defended the administration response in Libya, saying officials based shifting public statements on intelligence assessments available at the time.

为奥巴马政府在利比亚遇袭事件后的反应进行了辩护，说政府官员发表公开声明时之所以不一致，是因为他们都是根据彼时的情报评估做出声明的。

Mr. Biden also attempted to turn the tables on Mr. Ryan by saying the Republicans in Congress cut $300 million from diplomatic security, an attack begun this week by congressional Democrats.

此外，拜登还说，共和党议员在外交安全方面削减了3亿美元，试图借此发动对莱恩的反攻。民主党国会议员本周开始抓住这一点对共和党进行抨击。

Mr. Biden and Mr. Ryan continued the battle between the two tickets over differences in their approaches to Iran and Israel. Mr. Ryan pressed the Republican case that the Obama administration has distanced itself from Israel, putting space between the White House and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

之后，拜登和莱恩就两个竞选团队在伊朗和以色列政策上的分歧展开辩论。莱恩坚决维护共和党的主张，即奥巴马政府一直在疏离以色列，造成白宫与以色列总理内塔尼亚胡(Benjamin Netanyahu)之间产生距离。

That, Mr. Ryan said, sent a signal to Iran's leaders that the international community was divided on Tehran's nuclear program. He also complained that the Obama administration resisted some sanctions against Iran and granted 'waivers' to the sanctions.

莱恩说，美国这样做其实是在向伊朗领导人发出信号：国际社会在德黑兰核计划问题上存在分歧。此外，莱恩还抱怨称，奥巴马政府拒绝对伊朗实施部分制裁，而且还对制裁给予了“豁免。

Mr. Biden challenged Mr. Ryan's arguments, saying the Obama administration led the toughest sanctions regime that had ever been instituted against Iran and had united the world behind opposition to the nuclear program.

拜登对莱恩的说法表示怀疑。他说，在奥巴马政府的领导下，美国对伊朗实施了有史以来最严厉的制裁，并且美国还联合了反对伊朗核计划的国家。

Iran denies U.S. and allied charges that it is trying to develop a nuclear program.

伊朗对美国及其盟友称自己正在发展核计划的说法表示否认。

Mr. Biden didn't explain the origin of Mr. Ryan's complaint about waivers to the sanctions. Under the sanctions laws, the U.S. would have to impose penalties against countries that continue to purchase Iranian oil. But to avoid punishing allies, the Obama administration negotiated with governments around the world to reduce their purchases of Iranian oil, then approved waivers to the sanctions.

至于莱恩所称美国对伊朗制裁给出豁免这一怨言从何而来，拜登没有进行解释。按照制裁规定，美国应对继续从伊朗采购石油的国家予以惩罚。但为避免惩罚盟友，奥巴马政府与其它国家就减少采购伊朗石油的问题进行了协商，然后批准了制裁豁免权。

The sanctions are widely credited with having a deep economic effect on Iran, but have so far not persuaded the country's rulers to relinquish their nuclear program, which they claim is intended for peaceful purposes.

外界普遍认为，伊朗经济受到深远影响，美国的制裁“功不可没。但到目前为止，制裁并没有让伊朗执政者放弃核计划。伊朗领导人称，其核计划是用于和平目的。

While the two men are a generation apart─Mr. Biden is 69, Mr. Ryan is 42─the debate featured two men with similarities. Both were elected to Congress at a young age, Mr. Biden to the Senate at 29 and Mr. Ryan to the House at 28. Both have a deep knowledge of federal policy, which they put on display.

拜登今年69岁，莱恩42岁，两人在年龄上差了一辈，但从辩论会上却可以看到两人的共同之处。他们均在年纪轻轻时就当选美国国会议员。拜登29岁当选参议员，莱恩28岁当选众议员。两人对美国联邦政策都极为了解，也常常向公众展示出这一点。

Mr. Biden spent 36 years in the Senate, rising to chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee before joining Mr. Obama's 2010 ticket. Mr. Ryan is a 14-year veteran of the House and chairman of the Budget Committee.

2010年与奥巴马搭档参加总统大选之前，拜登曾担任美国国会参议员长达36年之久，位至参议院外交关系委员会(Foreign Relations Committee)主席。莱恩在美国众议院服务了14年，现任众议院预算委员会(Budget Committee)主席。

As the debate turned to the economy, Mr. Biden quickly raised Mr. Romney's secretly recorded comments at a campaign fundraiser that 47% of the country pays no federal taxes and sees themselves as victims who will never take personal responsibility. Democrats were dismayed that Mr. Obama had made no mention of those comments in his debate with Mr. Romney last week.

随着辩题转向美国经济方面，拜登很快便提到罗姆尼在一次大选筹款活动中说的话。罗姆尼当时说，47%的美国人不缴纳任何联邦税，他们认为自己是不幸者，永远不必承担个人责任。这番话被人悄悄录了下来。奥巴马上周与罗姆尼辩论时没有提及后者的这些言论，民主党人为此感到沮丧。

Mr. Biden said many of the people who receive government benefits are people like his parents, whom he said paid a higher income-tax rate than does Mr. Romney. The vice president said that instead of signing pledges by an anti-tax advocacy group not to raise taxes on anyone, including the highest earners, Messrs. Romney and Ryan should be signing a pledge to help the middle class.

拜登说，政府的受益者中，很多是像他父母那样的人，他说，这些人缴纳的个人所得税比罗姆尼缴纳的要多。拜登说，罗姆尼和莱恩应该签署一项支持中产阶级的承诺，而不是签署由反税倡议组织提出的、不对包括最高收入群体在内所有人增税的承诺。

Mr. Ryan used the moment to try to soften Mr. Romney's public image, telling the story of how Mr. Romney had offered to pay college expenses for a family whose two sons were injured in a car crash. He said Mr. Romney had given 30% of his income to charity. 'Mitt Romney's a good man. He cares about 100% of Americans in this country.''

莱恩试图利用这个机会软化罗姆尼的公众形象，他讲述了罗姆尼主动为一个家庭担负大学学费的故事，这个家庭户主的两个儿子在车祸中受伤。莱恩说，罗姆尼收入的30%贡献给了慈善事业。他说，罗姆尼是个心地善良的人，他关心这个国家的每一个人。

In discussing the '47%' comment, Mr. Ryan also cited the vice president's widely known penchant for gaffes and misstatements. 'I think the vice president knows sometimes the words don't come out of your mouth the right way,' he said.

在提到罗姆尼有关47%的言论时，莱恩指出，拜登经常在公众场合失言也是众所周知的事。莱恩说，我认为拜登副总统知道，人人都有说错话的时候。

Mr. Biden laughed in recognition of his own verbal miscues, but then turned serious, saying that if anyone thought that Mr. Romney was simply misstating his own views, then 'I've got a bridge to sell you.'

拜登听到此言后大笑，这代表他承认自己也曾有口误的事实，但他立马又严肃起来，他说，如果有人认为罗姆尼仅仅是没有准确地表达出自己想法的话，那也太好骗了吧。

The pair engaged in a vigorous debate over Medicare, with Mr. Biden saying the Republican ticket would turn the health-are program into a voucher system. Mr. Romney has proposed having future retirees buy insurance in the private market or through Medicare, with the coverage subsidized by the federal government. Mr. Ryan replied that his program would save the Medicare program, which faces a fiscal crisis in a few years.

两人还在医保问题上展开了激烈的辩论，拜登说，根据共和党的政纲，我们将会让医保项目变成抵用券制度。罗姆尼提出让未来的退休人员在私人市场或是通过医保项目购买保险，由联邦政府提供补贴。莱恩回应说，他的计划可以挽救医保项目，而医保项目几年后将面临财政危机。

Ms. Raddatz, the moderator, referred to Mr. Romney's tax plan, which would cut income-tax rates by 20% for all tax brackets and aim while ending unspecified tax breaks in an attempt to avoid adding to the federal deficit. She pressed Mr. Ryan to list some of the deductions and loopholes Mr. Romney would eliminate, but Mr. Ryan did not offer details.

主持人拉达兹提到了罗姆尼的税收计划，罗姆尼的税收计划将使针对所有税级和征税对象的个人所得税率降低20%，同时终结一些减税政策（他没有具体说明哪些减税项目），从而避免加剧联邦赤字。拉达兹要求莱恩罗列出一些罗姆尼可能取消的减税和漏洞，但是莱恩没有提供任何细节。

Mr. Ryan attacked the White House's 2010 economic stimulus package as ineffective, prompting Mr. Biden to note that Mr. Ryan had written him twice to request stimulus funding for his state. 'On two occasions…we advocated for constituents who were applying for grants,' Mr. Ryan said. 'We do that for all constituents.'

莱恩对白宫2010年的经济刺激一揽子计划进行了攻击，称该计划没有产生效果，他还提请拜登注意，莱恩已经两次写信给拜登，要求为自己的州提供刺激性的注资。莱恩说，有两次，我们为申请资金的选民据理力争，我们这么做是为了所有的选民。

Mr. Biden replied: 'I love that. This is such a bad program, and he writes me a letter saying…saying…we need this stimulus─it will create growth and jobs.'

拜登回应说，说的真不错，可这个计划太糟糕了，他在给我的信中说，我们州需要刺激计划，因为这将带来经济增长和就业。