Everyone loves a good story
AMERICANS have always drawn inspiration from the personal stories of their leaders.
Even today, for instance, schoolchildren are taught about the cherry tree that George Washington, US’s first president, chopped down as a child.
When his father stormed into the house after discovering the fallen tree, “honest George” is said to have cried: “I cannot tell a lie, father. I did cut it with my little hatchet.”
Such stories are meant to highlight important character traits. In this year’s presidential elections, they are also being used to attract voters.
Each major presidential and vice-presidential candidate in the ongoing campaigns has a compelling personal story and each seems to be dying to tell it.
There is, of course, the story of the Democratic Party Senator Barack Obama, the first black man to appear on a major party ticket in a US presidential election. There is the story of his running mate, Senator Joe Biden, who nearly dropped out of politics when his wife and daughter were killed in a car accident.
On the Republican side, there is the story of Senator John McCain, who clung to life for more than five years in a Hanoi prison camp during the Vietnam War. And there is his running mate, the Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, a mother of five children, including a baby with Downs Syndrome.
Playing up these stories allows the candidates to highlight their own qualities and, at the same time, appeal to certain blocks of voters.
For instance, Biden touts his roots in a blue-collar family to appeal to voters who work in factories and mines. McCain’s courageous story connects with families of military men and women.
Obama’s experiences as a community organizer on the streets of Chicago show his awareness of issues plaguing America’s poor urban families. And Palin’s decision to give birth to a mentally disabled baby endears her to American voters who oppose abortion.
Rick Davis, the campaign manager of the McCain campaign, recently admitted to The Washington Post that the personal narratives of the candidates have taken center stage.
“This election is not about issues. This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates,” he said.
Still, there is a danger in all of this storytelling. Eventually, the drama dies. Even worse, voters can begin to think the candidates are talking too much about themselves and not enough about, for instance, rising gas prices and the struggling economy.
Perhaps that’s why, in his recent keynote speech at the Democratic Party Convention, Obama said, “I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office… I haven’t spent my career in the halls of Washington. [But] this electionhas never been about me. It’s about you. It’s about you.”
生词：
Arch of Triumph 凯旋门
Arirang 阿里郎
cherry樱桃
cling坚持
composite混合的
Downs Syndrome 唐氏综合症，患者也被称为先天愚型儿
endear使受喜爱
footage连续镜头
narrative叙述故事
hatchet 短柄小斧
interval 时间间隔
mosaic 拼板组合成图
obsessively 着迷一般地
package tour 跟团旅游
Panmunjom 板门店，朝鲜地名
pedigree血统，家谱
plague使苦恼
podium领奖台
tout吹嘘，引起公众的注意
trait特点，特性
wreckage残骸，废墟
BONUS
Expressions
be dying to
迫不及待想做某事
John has never seen his cousin Sarah before. He’s just dying to meet her.
约翰从没见过他的表妹萨拉，他迫切地想见见她。
play up
大肆渲染，夸大重要性
She played up her internship experience during the job interview.
在工作面试时她着重强调了自己的实习经验。
storm into
(愤怒地)冲进。动词storm与介词into/out of连用，表示愤怒地、飞快地冲进/冲出
He stormed out of the house, slamming the door as he went.
他冲出屋子，摔门而去。
