人們對玩政治的人的要求其實既簡單又奇怪──他們可以什麼都不做，也可以什麼都做得很差，做得太好被視為理所當然，但是，他們就是不能說錯話。
之所以突然有這樣的感觸，是因為今年年底是華盛頓州的選舉年，要改選州長。再加上總統大選也只剩大概半年了，這裡call-in節目的口水也跟著多起來。
我不是很喜歡call-in節目，可是實驗室裡的老先生愛，所以我不得不跟著聽，反正英文不是母語，想要聽而不聞很容易。
不過，做實驗常會有空檔，有空檔就很容易亂聽，一亂聽就會聽到一堆有的沒的。前天下午，很有趣的，華盛頓州尋求連任的現任州長，打電話到一個跟她立場相異的節目，和節目主持人講了15分鐘的話。
美國的call-in雖然唇槍舌戰不輸台灣，可是不會人身攻擊，甚至有主持人一發現來賓火氣大了，還會緩和場面說不過是節目嘛！大家不用為了意見不同發脾氣。所以，州長跟主持人雖然互有攻防，可是也沒有大吵。好玩的事，是跟在州長後面的兩個call-in。
主持人說，接聽電話的助理告訴他，第二通call-in跟第一通來電顯示號碼是一樣的，不過說話的人不同。兩通電話都是支持州長的人，立論很接近，好死不死的是，第二個人被主持人抓到一個話柄反問，他答不出來，現場收音可以聽到那個人問他旁邊的人要怎麼回答。
主持人說，可見這應該是州長競選總部的人打來的電話，他們節目被設計了。
連續兩天廣播電臺不斷地重播這段節目。
我覺得他們太吹毛求疵了，人上call-in難免會緊張，拿這點死咬人家不放有點小題大作。不過，如果州長女士真的僱了那麼笨的人幫她打選戰，連個小問題都答不出來，那她可以不要再在江湖上混下去了。XD
另一個禍從口出的案例，是這個星期三，McCain的經濟顧問之一，德州參議員Phil Gramm接受Washington Times的訪問。他說，美國現在不是經濟衰退（economic recession），而是心智衰退（mental recession），因為有一群對現狀不滿的人老是說美國有多差多差，忽略美國因為經濟全球化而出口貿易正強勁。（是啊，出口強勁，可是賺來的美金都進了那些大老闆口袋裡，我們這些死老百姓只能苦哈哈過日子。）
星期四，這篇專訪就出問題了。Obama當然不會放過這麼好能大批特批的機會，順便酸一下說美國已經有一個Dr. Phil（在電視上做心理輔導的名嘴）了，不需要第二個；MaCain則是馬上跟Gramm劃清界線。
星期五，call-in節目大批鬥。老先生一大早就一臉氣憤：
「他居然敢說我們是mental recession！今天道瓊中場一度跌破一萬一（上次道瓊一萬一是兩年前的事），原油也漲到每桶147美金！真是個footless mouth！」
（韋氏字典說footless這個字除了沒有腳、沒有基礎外，也有笨蛋的意思。）
我手上有事，一時沒有反應過來，聽他把來龍去脈說清楚後：
「你的意思是說，現在一加侖四塊半的汽油、一條將近三塊錢的吐司、一磅五塊錢的白米、一直下跌的美國股市、越來越貴的房子和失業率，還有北極熊快要沒有冰塊能住這些事，全是我們想像出來的？！那他乾脆直接說我們是智障（mental retardation）不就得了！」
怎麼會有這麼白目的人啊？！
我算理智，不太因為電子媒體斷章取義就判定一個人。所以，趁空查了Gramm在星期三受訪的全文。
報導裡，他說：
“Misery sells newspapers. Thank God the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper every day.”
我很確定retardation的人不是我。
怎麼會有人笨到對平面媒體記者說報紙的壞話啊！這樣能怪人家沒有幫你稍微修飾一下用詞嗎？
相關連結：
Investors dump stocks, push Dow briefly below 11,000
The
McCain adviser talks of 'mental recession'
Patrice Hill
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
With the economy on the top of voters' minds, Republican presidential candidate John McCain's top economic adviser said the Arizona senator will lay down a detailed program to revive dynamic growth with dramatic tax and spending reforms.
In an interview with the Washington Times, Phil Gramm, a former Texas senator who is now vice chairman of
"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession," he said, noting that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. "We may have a recession; we haven't had one yet."
"We have sort of become a nation of whiners," he said. "You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline" despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy, he said.
"We've never been more dominant; we've never had more natural advantages than we have today," he said. "We have benefited greatly" from the globalization of the economy in the last 30 years.
Mr. Gramm said the constant drubbing of the media on the economy's problems is one reason people have lost confidence. Various surveys show that consumer confidence has fallen precipitously this year to the lowest levels in two to three decades, with most analysts attributing that to record high gasoline prices over $4 a gallon and big drops in the value of homes, which are consumers' biggest assets.
"Misery sells newspapers," Mr. Gramm said. "Thank God the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper every day."
Mr. McCain's economic program will seek to enliven growth by enabling taxpayers to opt into a new, simplified tax system with two low rates of 10 percent and 25 percent and no itemized deductions, he said.
Mr. McCain would tackle intransigent budget deficits by wrestling down burgeoning benefits programs and aggressively attacking wasteful spending whether it's in the Pentagon's procurement and weapons budget or congressional pork-barrel bills, he said.
A proven "instrument" of bipartisan reform and change in many areas, Mr. McCain would seek out Democratic leaders like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada to fashion a bipartisan reform of Social Security.
Mr. Gramm said a bipartisan deal might include raising the retirement age to 70 over 30 years, indexing the benefits of wealthier retirees to inflation rather than the more generous wage rate, and creating a private account program for younger workers.
Mr. McCain, a Republican with a proven record of voting for spending cuts, will renew efforts to balance the budget through spending reforms, he said. "It will be popular with the public but hated in Washington."
Mr. McCain also will pursue immigration reforms that would start with effective border enforcement but include a possible doubling of legal immigration, including no limits on scientific and technical workers and a generous sized guest worker program, he said.
"The American story is a story of immigration," he said. "I would be the last person who would say immigrants are not important to America." Mr. Gramm noted that Albert Einstein was one prominent immigrant who might have been excluded under an anti-immigration regime.
