2008年可以說是多事之年，其中美國大選一波三折，經(jīng)濟危機讓全球震動。美國《時代》雜志最近評出了2008年度十大尷尬瞬間，其中竟有四件與美國大選有關(guān)。

1. Bush dances while waiting for McCain

It was already going to be a delicate moment of political theater — an unpopular president offering a candidate he didn't really like an endorsement the candidate didn't really want. But the situation was made all the more awkward when George W. Bush went to the North Portico steps of the White House in March to welcome new Republican presidential nominee John McCain — and McCain wasn't there. "So, anyway," Bush said to waiting reporters. "As I was saying..." Still no McCain. The president smiled. And then he did a soft-shoe dance. "I'm just going to tap dance the day away," he said. Minutes later, McCain arrived with wife in tow, and the tap-dancing president endorsed the tardy candidate.

第一、布什等麥凱恩不耐煩跳舞打發(fā)時間

2008年3月5日，在獲得黨內(nèi)提名所需的1191張黨代表票后，美國共和黨總統(tǒng)候選人約翰·麥凱恩前往白宮，與總統(tǒng)布什共進午餐，作為布什正式宣布支持他的前奏。但布什卻被麥凱恩晾在白宮北門等了好一會兒。早早來到白宮北門的布什左等右等麥凱恩不到，為了調(diào)節(jié)氣氛，竟然在眾位記者面前獨自跳起踢跶舞來。

2. Greenspan "shocked" to find flaws in his free-market ideology

He used to be known as "The Maestro," for presiding over such a long period of economic growth. But this fall the former Federal Reserve chairman was being blamed for the laissez faire economic policies that contributed to the current financial crisis. In Congressional testimony in October, Alan Greenspan acknowledged that he was "partially" wrong in opposing financial regulation. "Yes, I found a flaw," he said, when grilled about his free-market ideology. "That is precisely the reason I was shocked, because I'd been going for 40 years or more with very considerable evidence that it was working exceptionally well." Also shocked is anyone who plans on retiring before the end of the next geologic era.

第二、格林斯潘震驚自由市場經(jīng)濟有缺陷

前美聯(lián)儲主席格林斯潘令世界經(jīng)濟持續(xù)增長，被尊稱為“藝術(shù)大師”。但是2008年秋，格林斯潘自由放任的經(jīng)濟政策飽受責難，在一定程度上導(dǎo)致了當前的金融危機。在10月舉行的美國國會聽證會上，格林斯潘承認，自由市場理論“有缺陷” ，無拘無束的自由市場并不一定是良好經(jīng)濟的根基。格林斯潘對這個缺陷感到“震驚”，因為四十多年來，他一直認為有確鑿證據(jù)證明這種理論的效果非常好。格林斯潘還稱，銀行自我調(diào)節(jié)能力的全面崩潰令他“萬分震驚，難以置信”。他還提醒人們關(guān)注這場危機的經(jīng)濟影響，稱“真不知道我們怎么能避免裁員和失業(yè)人數(shù)大增”。

3. Olympic committee's about-face in Beijing

Olympic etiquette dictates that you don't diss your host country. So in August, when four U.S. cyclists disembarked from their plane in Beijing wearing masks to guard against the city's notorious air pollution, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) demanded that the athletes apologize to the Chinese. The only problem was that the masks had been provided to the cyclists by the USOC itself. That's right. The USOC forced athletes to apologize for wearing gear it had specifically designed for them and recommended they wear. The cyclists said the negative encounter, which took place three days before the Games started, prevented them from performing their best and earning any medals. In September, the USOC sent a letter to the athletes, acknowledging it had mishandled the situation.

第三、美國運動員戴面罩參加北京奧運

奧運會禮節(jié)規(guī)定：運動員不能有詆毀東道國的言論或行為。但在2008北京奧運會前，四名美國腳踏車運動員卻帶著面罩走下飛機，聲稱是為了避免城市空氣污染。對此，美國奧林匹克委員會要求這些運動員向中國人民道歉。但萬分尷尬的是，這些面罩恰好是美國奧委會特別為運動員準備的。這些運動員賽后表示，此次事件對他們影響很大，令他們發(fā)揮失常，沒能贏得任何獎牌。9月，美國奧委會在給運動員信中承認，是他們誤導(dǎo)了運動員。

4. The View over use of the N word

Really, is there any better place for probing cultural analysis than daytime television? Tempers flared when the co-hosts of ABC's The View discussed Jesse Jackson's off-air use of the "N-word" while preparing for an appearance on Fox News. Elisabeth Hasselbeck disagreed with Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd about the use of the word. Hasselbeck made the case that it's a slur and should never be used, Goldberg that it's OK for African Americans to say it. Then the two women argued about whether they live in the same world, Hasselbeck started to cry and Barbara Walters snapped, "Take a breath, let someone else talk." And the wounds of a nation were healed.

第四、節(jié)目主持人直播中爭吵

美國廣播公司《視角》節(jié)目開始前，主持人伊麗莎白·哈瑟爾貝克與烏比·戈德堡，就重量級黑人牧師耶西·杰克遜攻擊奧巴馬時使用的“貶低黑人用語”發(fā)生激烈爭論。哈瑟爾貝克認為那是一個污點，杰克遜永遠不會再使用。而戈德堡稱非洲裔美國人可以使用。然后，兩位女性開始爭論他們是否生活在同樣的世界中。

5. Barack almost forgets to ask donors to help with Hillary's campaign debt

It was supposed to be an opportunity for Barack Obama to soothe the tensions that still simmered between Hillary Clinton's supporters and his own. In July, the senator had secured the Democratic nomination and planned to use a New York City fundraising event to solicit donations to help pay off Clinton's millions of dollars in campaign debt. But Obama gave a 32-minute speech that never mentioned the debt and started walking off to Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, and Delivered," before realizing his error. Rushing back on stage, Obama said, "Hold on a second, guys! I was getting all carried away!" He then solicited the help, and doubts about whether fences had been mended were put to rest — months later, when Clinton agreed to serve as Obama's secretary of state.

第五、奧巴馬演講中忘記幫希拉里還債

今年7月，奧巴馬基本確定能夠獲得民主黨總統(tǒng)候選人的黨內(nèi)提名，并計劃利用紐約籌款集會的機會，懇求捐款人幫他還清希拉里欠下的數(shù)百萬美元的競選債務(wù)。對于奧巴馬來說，那是緩和希拉里的支持者與自己關(guān)系的一個良機。但是在奧巴馬32分鐘的演講中，只字未提希拉里。就在奧巴馬要走下臺時，突然意識到自己的錯誤，他又急忙返回臺上，奧巴馬說：“請大家等一下！”然后，他懇求支持者們慷慨解囊，幫希拉里還債。幾個月后，希拉里成為奧巴馬的國務(wù)卿。