#再创纪录！拜登得票数突破8千万#
重读拜登08年自传，依旧感受到这位政客一生经历丰富。
Democratic presidential candidate Joseph Biden has been in politics for half a century. His long track record gives voters a chance to see how his beliefs have changed over time, as well as the kind of president he might turn out to be.
民主党总统候选人约瑟夫·拜登从政已有半个世纪。他长期的政绩给了选民一个机会，让他们看到他的信仰随着时间的推移发生了怎样的变化，以及他可能成为什么样的总统。
You’ll learn about Biden’s early life and career until 2008, when he made his second run for the Democratic nomination. Discover how a Catholic upbringing influenced his ideas on fairness and public service, and how facing adversity made him into the politician he is today.
你会了解到拜登早年到2008年第二次竞选民主党提名时的生活和职业生涯。了解成长在天主教的环境中如何影响他对公平和公共服务的理念，以及面对逆境如何使他成为今天的政治家。
You’ll also gain fascinating insights into some of the key challenges that have shaped the US over the last decades, including the civil rights movement and the politicalinfightingthat followed the attacks of 9/11. While the Senate we know now issplinteredalong party lines, Biden’s autobiography paints a very different picture – wherecollegialityreigned supreme, and senators followed their convictions. Understanding that past gives us a vision into the future this presidential candidate is aiming for.
你还将深入了解过去几十年塑造美国的一些关键挑战，包括民权运动和911袭击后的政治内讧。虽然我们现在所知道的参议院是按照党派划分的，但拜登的自传却描绘了一幅截然不同的景象：合议制占据主导地位，参议员们遵循自己的信念。对过去的理解让我们对这位总统候选人的未来有了一个展望。
You’ll learn
你会了解到
why stuttering was one of the best problems Biden ever had;
为什么口吃是拜登有史以来最好的问题之一；
how Biden became an early environmental campaigner; and
拜登如何成为早期的环保活动家；以及
why Jill turned down his offer of marriage five times.
为什么吉尔五次拒绝了他的求婚。
childhood experiences 童年经历
Throughout his childhood, Joe Biden struggled with a bad stutter. When he was nervous, or had to speak up in class, it would creep up on him, trapping the words in his throat and making himburn with shame.
在整个童年时期，乔·拜登一直与严重的口吃作斗争。当他紧张的时候，或者在课堂上不得不大声说话时，口吃就会悄悄地找上他，要说的话卡喉咙里，让他羞愧难当。
But the young Joe was determined to teach himself how to speak in public. He memorized speeches and poems, and recited them to himself as he stood in front of the mirror. If he stuttered, he simply started again, practicing how to relax the muscles in his face as he spoke.
但年轻的乔决心自学如何在公共场合讲话。他记忆演讲和诗歌，站在镜子前背诵出来。如果口吃了，他就重新开始，练习说话时如何放松脸上的肌肉。
Remarkably, over time, this stubborn practice began to work. Joe Biden came to love public speaking, and went on to address crowds of thousands with ease.
值得注意的是，随着时间的推移，这种笨做法开始奏效。乔·拜登开始喜欢上了公众演讲，并能轻松地向成千上万的群众发表演讲。
Today, Biden credits his stutter for preparing him to become a political leader. It gave him a blueprint for tackling adversity through sheer determination, something which has seen him through countless difficult situations. It also gave him some of the empathy for which he’s so well-known. Biden has never forgotten what it felt like to be bullied and humiliated.
今天，拜登认为口吃为自己成为一名政治领袖做了准备。给了他仅凭决心来应对逆境的蓝图，这见证了他经历的无数困境。口吃也给了他一些众所周知的同情心。拜登从来没有忘记被欺负和羞辱的感觉。
Much of Bidens political philosophy can be traced back to his experiences in childhood, and how his parents taught him to respond. He recalls being humiliated by a nun at school who mocked his stutter, calling him “Mr. Bu-bu-bu-biden.” Joe told his mom what had happened, and she, furious, went straight to the school, threatening toyank off the nuns habit if she did it again. It didnt matter that the nun was a respected figure in the church, Bidens mother judged her on her behavior, and there was nothing she hated more than a bully.
拜登的政治哲学可以追溯到他童年的经历，以及父母教导他的应对方式。他回忆起在学校被修女羞辱，修女嘲笑他的口吃，称他为“拜拜拜登先生”。乔把发生的事情告诉了妈妈，她很生气，直接去了学校，威胁说，如果修女再这样做的话，就要强行改掉修女的习惯。修女在教堂里是受人尊敬，但是这并不重要，拜登的母亲仅根据她的行为来评判她。她最讨厌的莫过于欺凌。
This willingness to stand up to bullies is seen throughout Bidens career, whether in the fight against racial discrimination, in reigning incrooked colleagues, or in opposing foreign dictators. Joe Biden was taught by his parents, and through his Catholic faith, that to serve others was a sacred responsibility, and that those in power must use it to uplift thedisenfranchised. Biden was inspired to become a public servant in the broadest sense of the word. Whether as a public defender, senator, or contender for the presidency, his desire has always been to serve hisconstituentsthe best way he knows how.
在拜登的整个职业生涯中，无论是在反对种族歧视的斗争中，还是在掌控不忠的同事，还是在反对外国独裁者方面，都可以看到这种敢于反抗欺凌者的意愿。父母教导以及天主教信仰，乔·拜登觉得为他人服务是一种神圣的责任，当权者必须用帮助被剥夺权利的人。受此鼓舞，拜登可以说是公务员典范。无论是作为一名公共辩护人、参议员，还是总统竞选人，他的愿望始终是以他所知道的最好的方式为选民服务。
Falling in love 坠入爱河
It may surprise you to hear that the Democratic nominee for the presidency was a very mediocrestudent in college. He had the brains, but he wasnt motivated to put in the hard graft. In fact, like many of us, Joe Biden often ended upfranticallycrammingfor exams just a few days before they began.
听说民主党总统候选人在大学时是个非常平庸的学生，你可能会感到惊讶。他很有头脑，但他没有动力刻苦学习。事实上，和我们很多人一样，乔·拜登经常在考试开始前几天疯狂地死记硬背。
For his first two years at the University of Delaware, Biden was much more interested in hanging out with his friends in the studentloungethan hitting the books.
在特拉华大学的头两年，拜登更愿意和朋友们在学生休息室里闲逛，而不是看书。
It didn’t help that, around this time, he also fell madly in love with a woman he met on the beach duringspring breakin the Bahamas. The woman who captured his heart was called Neilia Hunter.
在这个时候，他还疯狂地爱上了一个他春假期间在巴哈马海滩上认识的女人。抓住他的心的女人叫尼莉亚·亨特。
Neilia was different from Joe in a lot of ways. For one thing, her family wasnt Catholic. For another, she was extremely wealthy. But that didnt seem to matter to the young couple. They were in love, and knew they were meant to be together. Joe started making the 320-mile drive to see her every weekend. He even gave up playing football because practices would have meant hed have less time for visits.
尼莉亚和乔在很多方面都不同。首先，她的家人不是天主教徒。另一方面，她非常富有。但这些对年轻夫妇似乎并不重要。他们相爱了，知道他们注定要在一起。乔开始每个周末开车320英里去看她。他甚至放弃了踢足球，因为训练会缩减他的探望时间。
Meeting Neilia diverted a lot of Joe’s attention from college. But, it turns out, it also made him more determined to succeed. The thing is, Neilia hadunerringconfidence in him. So much so that he began to feel more confident in himself. Under her influence, hebuckled down for his last semesters in college, and did well enough to win a place at the Syracuse University College of Law.
认识尼莉亚转移了乔在大学的注意力。但是，事实证明，这也让他更加坚定了成功的决心。问题是尼莉亚对他非常有信心，以至于他开始对自己更有信心了。在她的影响下，他在大学的最后一个学期努力学习，成绩优异，被锡拉丘兹大学法学院录取了。
At law school, Joe passed his final exams, thanks to Neilias help with revising. His next challenge was to find a place to practice law, in what was a notoriously competitive field. Luckily, his father managed to get him an introduction at the prestigious law firm, Prickett, Ward, Burt, and Sanders in their hometown of Wilmington. Despite hisless-than-stellaracademic transcript, Joe talked himself into the job!
在法学院，多亏了尼莉亚的帮助复习，乔通过了期末考试。他的下一个挑战是在这个竞争激烈行业找到一个律师执业的地方。幸运的是，他的父亲设法介绍他去威尔明顿的著名律师事务所工作。尽管他的学业成绩不太理想，乔还是说服自己去做这份工作！
Everything was falling into place. Joe and Neilia got married and soon had a child on the way. And his law career seemed set to take off. But still, Joe found himselfhankering for more. He wanted to serve the public through his work.
一切都很顺利。乔和尼莉亚结婚了，不久就有了一个孩子。他的律师生涯似乎要开始了。但乔还是发现自己渴望得到更多。他想通过工作为公众服务。
Early career 早期职业生涯
Joe Biden will never forget the trial that changed the course of his career. The law firm he had just joined was representing a company against one of their employees – a welder – who’d been badly injured at work and would be permanently disabled. During the course of the trial, Biden’s boss found aloopholein the law which meant the company could avoid paying compensation.
乔·拜登永远不会忘记这场改变他职业生涯的审判。他刚加入的律师事务所代表一家公司起诉他们的一名员工——一名焊工，他在工作中受了重伤，将终身残疾。在审判过程中，拜登的老板发现了一个法律漏洞，这意味着公司可以避免支付赔偿金。
His boss was doing nothing wrong. In fact, he was doing his job very well and following the letter of the law. But, as Biden saw the distress on the faces of the welders family, he realized he couldnt spend his life practicing law in this way. While the ruling was legal, it didnt mean it was morally right.
他的老板没有做错什么。事实上，他做得很好，谨遵法律条文。但是，当拜登看到焊工家人脸上的痛苦时，他意识到他不能用这种方式度过律师生涯。虽然这项裁决是合法的，但并不意味着它在道德上是正确的。
Biden was becoming more and more alarmed at the unequal treatment of Black people living in Wilmington at that time. In the 1960s, the city was in thethick of civil rights protests, which only intensified after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. In response, the governor called in the National Guard to patrol Black neighborhoods. They enforced a curfew andmenaced residents with loaded weapons.
拜登对当时生活在威尔明顿的黑人受到的不平等待遇越来越感到震惊。20世纪60年代，这座城市正处于民权抗议活动的密集时期，这场抗议活动在马丁·路德·金博士遇刺后才愈演愈烈。作为回应，州长召集国民警卫队在黑人社区巡逻，并实施宵禁，并用上膛的武器威胁居民。
Biden realized that he’d never be able to defend disenfranchised workers or Black people while working at his prestigious law firm. He quit immediately, and began searching for another job where he couldmake a difference.
拜登意识到，如何他在著名的律师事务所工作，他永远无法为被剥夺权利的工人或黑人辩护。他立即辞职，开始寻找另一份可以有所作为的工作。
The most obvious place to look was the public defenders office, where Biden could represent people unable to pay for their own legal counsel. He began representing mainly Black people from the poor neighborhood of East Wilmington. He also joined a criminal defense firm where he helped to fight civil litigation suits for people in desperate circumstances.
很明显这项工作就是公设辩护律师办公室，拜登可以代表那些无力支付自己律师费用的人。他开始主要代表来自东威尔明顿贫民区的黑人。他还加入了一家刑事辩护公司，在那里他帮助处于绝望境地的人们打民事诉讼。
These experiences made Biden feel like he could use his law degree to make a real difference in peoples lives. But it wasn’t enough. He wanted to be a part of creating law and policy at a systemic level, not just helping individual cases. He also longed to join a more public arena. When he was invited to run for the county council in Delaware, Joe Biden saw a small opening to pursue his political dreams.
这些经历让拜登觉得，他可以利用自己的法学学位真正改变人们的生活。但这还不够。他希望在系统层面参与制定法律和政策，而不仅仅是在个别案件中有所作为。他还渴望加入一个更为公开的舞台。当乔·拜登被邀请竞选特拉华州的县议会席位时，他看到了一个实现自己政治梦想的小机会。
Environmental Campaigner环保活动家
Biden’s entry into politics was not very auspicious. In 1969, local Democrats asked him to consider running for a seat on the New Castle County Council, a small Delaware district that was mainly Republican.
拜登从政并不是很吉利。1969年，当地民主党人要求他考虑竞选纽卡斯尔县议会（NewCastle County Council）的席位，这是一个特拉华州的小选区，主要是共和党人。
It seemed unlikely he’d win. Still, he decided to give it a try, and appointed his sister, Valerie, as campaign manager. She ran ameticulouscampaign, canvassing every block in every neighborhood.
他似乎不太可能赢。不过，他还是决定试一试，并任命妹妹瓦莱丽为竞选经理。她进行了一次细致的竞选活动，在每个街区都进行了仔细的拉票。
And Biden found that he connected well with both sides of the political divide. Middle-class Republicans and working-class Democrats both wanted the same thing: a healthy environment for their children to grow up in.
拜登发现，他与政治分歧的双方都有很好的联系。中产阶级的共和党人和工人阶级的民主党人都想要一个相同的东西：给他们的孩子一个健康的成长环境。
Biden’s efforts to connect with voters worked. He won the seat by 2,000 votes – even though the Democrats suffered big losses in the rest of the state. And he wasted no time in making use of his new powers.
拜登与选民沟通的努力奏效了。他以2000票的优势赢得了这个席位，尽管民主党在该州其他地方遭受了巨大的损失。他毫不浪费时间利用他的新权力。
In particular, he tried to reign in the big developers, who were causing environmental devastation in the area. In the early 1970s, there were few environmental regulations. Shell had been allowed to buy several thousand acres of prime coastal land to build a new oil refinery. And, to make matters worse, developers had begun digging upswaths of land to build mega highwayscrisscrossingtowns. The result was high levels of air pollution and problems with waste disposal.
尤其是，他试图掌控那些给当地造成环境破坏的大型开发商。上世纪70年代初，几乎没有环境法规。壳牌公司被允许购买数千英亩的沿海优质土地建造一个新的炼油厂。而且更糟糕的是，开发商已经开始挖掘大片土地，修建横跨城镇的巨型高速公路。结果是空气污染严重，出现垃圾处理问题。
Biden put the brakes onmany of these developments and called for tougher environmental checks before permits were awarded. It made him very unpopular with developers and businesspeople, but it won him many admirers who noted his willingness to take on difficult fights.
拜登停止了这些建设项目，并呼吁在颁发许可证之前进行更严格的环境检查。这使他在开发商和商人中非常不受欢迎，但也为他赢得了许多崇拜者，因为他愿意进行困难的斗争。
It was that fighting spirit that the Democratic Party in Delaware now turned to as they tried to rethink their strategy after the terrible results of the 1970 election. They weren’t connecting with voters and were seen as behind the times. They created a Democratic Renewal Commission, with Biden as a member, and began some serioussoul-searching.
特拉华州的民主党在1970年糟糕选举的结果后重新思考自己的战略时转向这种战斗精神。他们与选民没有联系，被视为落后于时代。他们成立了民主复兴委员会，拜登也是成员之一，并开始认真反省。
Won a seat in the Senate赢得了参议院席位
The same Republican had controlled one of Delaware’s seats in the United States Senate since 1946. To get more influence in the state, the Democrats decided they must find a challenger to beat him. And who better than the rising star Joe Biden, who was causing such astirwith his progressive environmental policies.
同一位共和党人自1946年以来一直控制着特拉华州在美国参议院的一个席位。为了在这个州获得更多的影响力，民主党决定必须找到一个挑战者来击败他。还有谁能比正在崛起的乔·拜登更出色，他以其进步的环境政策引起了如此大的轰动。
Biden was flabbergastedat being asked to run. After all, he was only 29 and just beginning his political career. But with the support of Neilia and his family, he decided to take it on. Valerie Biden was once again put in charge of the campaign, his younger brother took on fundraising, and Neilia was a constant ally.
被要求参选，拜登感到震惊。毕竟，他才29岁，才刚刚开始他的政治生涯。但在尼莉亚和家人的支持下，他决定接受这项任务。瓦莱丽·拜登再次被任命为竞选负责人，他的弟弟负责筹款，而尼莉亚则是他的忠实盟友。
From the start, theirs was an underdogcampaign. They had no money, and funders werent willing to invest in a candidate they were sure would lose. After all, no one had beaten the Republicanincumbent for nearly three decades! Why did this young upstartthink that he could?
从一开始，他们的竞选就处于劣势现任参议员！为什么这个年轻的政治新贵可以？
But Biden and his family used their apparent weaknesses, and turned them into strengths. When they couldnt afford to mail out literature, they recruited a network of volunteers to do deliveries, helping to increase engagement in the campaign. Instead ofcourtingjournalists and chasing publicity, they focused on small community events. Biden would host up to ten coffee meetings a day in peoples living rooms, chatting with voters and answering questions in a relaxed, intimate setting.
但拜登和他的家人利用了他的起居室里主持多达十次的咖啡会，在轻松、亲密的环境中与选民聊天，回答问题。
He also took advantage of his youth to appeal to younger voters by talking regularly in high schools. Not only would some of those students be able to vote in the next election, but he was confident that the younger ones would influence their parents, encouraging them to look more thoughtfully at this new candidate for the Senate.
他还利用自己年轻的特点，在高中经常讲话，以吸引年轻选民。这些学生不仅可以在下一次选举中投票，而且他相信年轻的学生会影响他们的父母，鼓励他们更加深思熟虑地看待这个新的参议员候选人。
Biden constantly refined his policy positions until he wascrystal clearabout what he was fighting for, and could convey that clarity to voters. The issues he championed were civil rights, protecting the environment, voting rights, access to healthcare, and ending the war in Vietnam. By the time he got mass-media attention in bigger speeches, and on the debate stage, he had a solid base of supporters, and was projecting a strong, passionate message about what he could achieve.
拜登不断完善自己的政策立场，直到他清楚地知道自己在为什么而战，并能明确向选民传达信息。他所倡导的议题包括公民权利、保护环境、
Two months before the election, Joe Biden wastrailing the incumbent, Senator Boggs, by nearly 30 points in the polls. But on election day he surprised everyone – including himself – by winning the election, and by 3,000 votes!
大选前两个月，乔·拜登在民调中落后现任参议员博格斯近30个百分点。但是在选举日，他以3000票的优势赢得了选举，这让包括他自己在内的所有人都感到惊讶！
The senator wasnt unbeatable, after all. The Democrats just needed a candidate with enough youthful courage to give it a try.
毕竟参议员并不是不可战胜的。民主党只需要一个有足够勇气的年轻候选人来试一试。
Life upside down彻底颠覆的生活
Joe Bidens 30th birthday should haveheralded one of the happiest years of his life. He was heading to the Senate in just a couple of weeks, where he’d begin what promised to be anillustriouspolitical career. He and Neilia had just moved into their dream home in the suburbs of Wilmington. And they had three beautiful children.
乔·拜登的30岁生日本应预示着他一生中最幸福的一年。几周后，他将前往参议院，在那里他将开始必定辉煌的政治生涯。他和尼莉亚刚搬进他们在威尔明顿郊区梦寐以求的家。他们有三个漂亮的孩子。
But his life took an abrupt and painful turn when Neilia and the children were in a major car crash just before the Christmas of 1972. Neilia, and their youngest child, Naomi, were killed in the accident. Their sons, Beau and Hunter, were badly injured, and doctors warned that Hunter might be permanently affected by his head wounds.
但是，尼利亚和孩子们在1972年圣诞节前发生了一起重大车祸，他的生活发生了突然而痛苦的转折。尼莉亚和最小的孩子娜奥米在事故中丧生。他们的儿子博和亨特受了重伤，医生警告说亨特头部可能会留下永久的创伤。
Biden was in Washington interviewing new staff when the accident happened, but he immediately rushed back to Wilmington, to be by his sons’ bedsides.
事故发生时，拜登正在华盛顿面试新员工，他立即赶回威尔明顿，到他儿子的床边。
He felt trapped in a waking nightmare. His pain was so intense that he questioned whether he could carry on, and understood for the first time why suicide can seem like a rational way out for people who are suffering.
他感到被困在一个醒着的噩梦中。他的痛苦是如此的强烈，以至于他质疑自己是否能继续下去，并第一次理解了为什么自杀对受苦的人来说似乎是一种理性的出路。
What kept him going was the sight of his boys, lying bandaged in their hospital beds. They were so small and vulnerable. How could he possibly leave them? Focusing on that, he managed to survive day by day.
让他坚持下去的是看到他的孩子们缠着绷带躺在病床上。他们很小很脆弱。他怎么可能离开他们？专注于这个想法，他一天一天的活下来了。
But Biden completely lost interest in the political world that had dominated his life just weeks before. He decided he couldnt join the Senate. After all, senators can be replaced, but fathers cant, and now his boys needed him more than ever. He told the Senate majority leader, Mike Mansfield, that they’d need to find someone to fill his place.
几个星期前政治仍主宰他的生活，但现在他完全失去了兴趣。他决定不加参议院。毕竟，参议员可以更换，但父亲不能，现在他的儿子们比以往任何时候都更需要他。他告诉参议院多数党领袖迈克·曼斯菲尔德需要找人来填补他的位置。
Bidens political career might have ended right there were it not for the persistence of his colleagues. Senator Hubert Humphrey called the hospital every day to let Biden know they were thinking of him. And Mike Mansfield told him he’d already been appointed to the distinguished Steering Committee, and warned him not to throw away what he and Neilia had worked so hard for. Biden decided he owed it to Neilia to at least give the Senate a chance, and on January 5, 1973, hewas sworn into office.
如果不是因为他的同事们的坚持，拜登的政治生涯可能就此结束。参议员休伯特·汉弗莱每天给医院打电话，让拜登知道他们在想他。迈克·曼斯菲尔德告诉他，他已经被任命为杰出的指导委员会成员，并警告他不要放弃他和尼莉亚付出巨大努力取得的成就。拜登决定，这是他欠尼利亚的，至少给参议院一个机会。1973年1月5日，他宣誓就职。
Became engaged in his work投入工作
The early months in the Senate proved rocky, to say the least. Biden was in a constanthazeof grief and rage; it was all he could do to get through the day. He always showed up for work and went to important briefings, but he left to take the train home as soon as possible. He didnt make any effort to get to know his colleagues, and ended up eating lunch alone at his desk.
至少可以说，拜登在参议院的最初几个月表现得很不稳定。拜登一直沉浸在悲伤和愤怒的阴霾中，他一整天只能这样子才能度过。他总是去上班，参加重要的简报会，然后下班，尽快乘火车回家。他没有花时间去了解他的同事，结果每次都是一个人在办公桌上吃午饭。
Luckily, that didnt stop his colleagues trying to get to know him. Mike Mansfield and Hubert Humphrey continued tocheck in onhim at least once a week. Teddy Kennedy turned up to take him to the gym, and numerous colleagues invited him for dinner at their homes. Eventually, their efforts paid off.
幸运的是，这并没有阻止同事们试图了解他。迈克·曼斯菲尔德和休伯特·汉弗莱每周至少去探望他一次。泰迪·肯尼迪会带他去健身房，许多同事邀请他在家里共进晚餐。最终，他们的努力得到了回报。
Although he initially resisted all social contact, Biden soon came to be extremely grateful for the support of his colleagues. His first term in the Senate was atumultuous time in politics. The US was in the grip of the Vietnam War, and President Nixon had just beenimpeached. Racism and civil rights were urgent issues, as was the need for social housing and healthcare.
尽管拜登最初拒绝与人交往，但很快他就对同事们的支持非常感激。他在参议院的第一个任期是政坛动荡的时期。美国正深陷越南战争泥潭，尼克松总统刚刚被弹劾。种族主义和公民权利是紧迫的问题，对社会住房和医疗保健的需求也是紧迫的问题。
Bidens first speech in the Senate focused on campaign finance. He argued that political campaigns should completely avoid private funding because it led to corruption. Hed seen that for himself when several potential donors suggested they’d only fund him if he agreed to vote in their interests. The speech wasn’t popular with his colleagues, but Biden wasunfazed.
拜登在参议院的第一次演讲集中在竞选资金上。他认为，政治运动应该完全避免私人资助，因为这会导致腐败。因为几个潜在的捐赠者建议只有当他同意为他们的利益投票时才会资助，这让他预见了这一点。这场演讲不受同事们的欢迎，但拜登并不担心。
This early speech showed that Biden was unafraid to take controversial positions and follow his principles. It’s something he’s practiced throughout his career. For example, he argued against federal funding for abortions, but supported a womans right to choose to have one. His position has angered both conservatives and womens rights groups. But because it fits Bidens moral compass, he refuses tobudge.
这一早期的演讲表明，拜登不怕采取有争议的立场，遵循自己的原则。这是他整个职业生涯都在实践的东西。例如，他反对联邦资助堕胎，但支持妇女选择堕胎的权利。他的立场激怒了保守党和女权组织。但因为这符合拜登的道德准则，他拒绝让步。
Biden’s attitude has earned him respect from both sides of the aisle. Because he doesnt vote along party lines, he’s been able to work effectively with both Democrats and Republicans on the issues he finds important.
拜登的态度为他赢得了两党的尊重。因为他不按党派路线投票，所以他能够在他认为重要的问题上与民主党和共和党有效合作。
Meant to build a life together注定在一起
In March 1975, two years after he became a senator, Biden went out on his first date with Jill Jacobs and felt something he hadnt experienced for a long time: joy. Biden had been given the number of the young school teacher by his brother, and called her upon a whim.
1975年3月，也就是他成为参议员两年后，拜登第一次和吉尔·雅各布约会，感受到了他很久没有经历过的东西：喜悦。拜登的弟弟给了拜登这位年轻教师的电话号码，他一时兴起给她打了电话。
As they chatted about their lives and families, Biden felt a rare sense of connection and ease. He realized almost immediately that this was the woman hed been looking for.
当他们聊起自己的生活和家庭时，拜登感到了一种难得的联系感和轻松感。他几乎立刻意识到这就是他一直在寻找的女人。
But Jill wasnt so sure. At 24, she was almost ten years younger than Joe. Whats more, shed just come out of an ill-matched marriage and was enjoying her freedom. And she hated politics! How would this older senator with two young kids fit into her plans for her life?
但吉尔不太确定。她24岁，几乎比乔小10岁。更重要的是，她刚从一段不般配的婚姻中走出来，享受着自由。而且她讨厌政治！这位有两个孩子的老参议员如何融入她的人生规划？
But, as Jill found out, even the best-laid plans can change. Although she rejected five marriage proposals and claimed she wanted tokeep it casual, she was slowly and surely falling in love. She was also becoming an increasingly important part of the lives of Biden’s young sons, Beau and Hunter.
但是，正如吉尔发现的那样，即使是最好的计划也会改变。虽然她拒绝了五次求婚，并声称她想保持朋友关系，但她慢慢地、不可避免地坠入了爱河。她也成为拜登的两个儿子博和亨特生活中越来越重要的一部分。
Joe tried to be patient, but he became increasingly desperate to know whether they had a real future together. One day, he gave her an ultimatum: Did she want to commit to their relationship, or would they have to break up? After much soul-searching, Jill realized that she couldnt bear to let him go. She wanted to be a part of his life, and all that entailed.
乔试图保持耐心，但他越来越急切地想知道他们未来是否能真正在一起。有一天，他向她下了最后通牒：是将他们的关系推进一步，还是他们必须分手？经过深思熟虑，吉尔意识到她无法忍受让他离开。她想成为他现在及将来生活的一部分。
The couple got married in June 1977 in New York City, and went on a honeymoon with the whole family. Jill was a dedicated and loving mom to the boys as they grew up. And even though she’d always hated politics, she was an enormous support in her husband’s career.
这对夫妇于1977年6月在纽约市结婚，然后全家去度蜜月。在孩子们长大成人的过程中，吉尔是一个尽心尽力、充满爱心的母亲。尽管她一直讨厌政治，但她全力支持丈夫的事业。
Run for national office竞选总统
With Jill by his side, Joe felt confident to run for a second term in the Senate, which he won decisively. Sticking out that second term proved that Biden had staying power. And his prominent committee positions gave him valuable experience in foreign affairs, intelligence, and security. It wasnt long before senior Democrats were suggesting he run for a much bigger office: the president of the United States.
有了吉尔的支持，乔有信心竞选第二任参议员，并取得了压倒性的胜利。赢得第二个任期证明了拜登有持续影响力。他在委员会的显赫地位给了他在外交、情报和安全方面的宝贵经验。不久，民主党高层就建议他竞选一个更大的职位：美国总统。
Biden thought that his years of political wranglingin the Senate had prepared him for the race to become the Democratic nominee. But when the time came – in 1987 – it was moregrueling than he anticipated.
拜登认为，他多年来在参议院的政治角力为他竞选民主党候选人做好了准备。但到了1987年的时候，情况比他预想的还要艰难。
Biden’s relationship with the press was alreadyshaky. When he’d joined the Senate, he’d felt they were invading his privacy to find out about the deaths of Neilia and Naomi. From then on, hed avoided them as much as possible.
拜登与媒体的关系已经岌岌可危。当他加入参议院的时候，他觉得媒体侵犯了他的隐私，想知道尼莉亚和娜奥米的死讯。从那时起，他就尽量避开他们。
Now, wanting to run for high office, Biden had no close allies in the media to fight for him to get fair coverage. When he entered the race, the press wasunrelenting. Biden was accused of being all showmanshipand no substance. He was painted as aslacker in the Senate.
现在，拜登想竞选总统，在媒体上没有亲密盟友来为他争取公平的报道。当他参加竞选时，媒体毫不留情。拜登被指责只会作秀，没有实质内容。他被描绘成参议院的懒鬼。
In spite of the bad press, Bidens campaign gained momentum. He was able to connect with audiences of all kinds, and it seemed that people were hungry for his message of decency and opportunity for all.
尽管舆论对他不利，拜登的竞选势头依然强劲。他能够与各种各样的观众联系在一起，似乎人们都渴望听到他关于所有人都能体面生活和公平机会的信息。
But his campaign was dealt a huge blow when the New York Times published a story claiming hed used part of a speech by the British politician Neil Kinnock, without attributing the quote. Biden had included Kinnocks lines in the closing argument of a debate, and forgot to credit him. The newspaper didnt mention that theyd been sent the video by one of Bidens political rivals, who was actively trying tosmearhis campaign.
但当《纽约时报》发表了一篇报道，声称他使用了英国政治家尼尔·金诺克的部分讲话，而没有对这段引文进行说明，他的竞选活动受到了巨大打击。拜登把金诺克的部分讲话写入辩论的结论部分，却忘了表明引用。该报没有提到是拜登的一个政敌给他们发来的视频，这位政敌正积极试图抹黑他的竞选活动。
The stories got worse. Journalistsrakedthrough Bidens academic records, and found that at Syracuse hed also been accused of plagiarizing a quote. In the end, the law school had concluded that Biden hadnt intended to cheat. As a young scholar, he simply didnt know how to reference properly. But the press didnt care. They ran a story about how Biden was a plagiarizer even in college. The stories were devastating to Biden because they questioned the quality he prized most highly: his personal integrity.
让事情雪上加霜的是。记者翻阅了拜登的学术记录，发现在锡拉丘兹大学他也被指控剽窃了一段引文。最后法学院得出结论，拜登并没有打算作弊。作为一个年轻的学者，他根本不知道如何恰当地引用。但媒体并不在乎。他们刊登了一篇关于拜登在大学里是如何剽窃的报道。这些故事对拜登来说是毁灭性的，因为媒体在质疑他最看重的品质：正直。
All of this heat in the media came at the worst possible time. Biden was chairing controversial nomination proceedings for a Supreme Court judge. And the attacks on his character threatened to derail the proceedings, as well as his campaign.
媒体的这些热度都是在最糟糕的时候出现的。拜登正在主持一位有争议的最高法院法官提名程序。对他性格的攻击威胁着这一流程和他的竞选活动。
He had no alternative but to pull out of the race.
他别无选择，只好退出竞选。
Face Death面对死亡
In the end, pulling out of the race was a godsend. Throughout the campaign, Biden had suffered agonizing headaches, sometimes having to take more than ten painkillers a day. He’dshruggedthem off as stress and overexertion, but the real cause was much more sinister.
最终，退出竞选是天赐良机。在整个竞选过程中，拜登饱受头痛之苦，有时一天要吃10多种止痛药。他以为是压力过大和过度劳累，所以不屑一顾，但真正的原因是更加险恶。
One night, after delivering a long speech, Biden returned to his hotel room and passed out. Doctors found ananeurysmlodged underneath his brain. If he’d still been actively campaigning, it’s possible it would have killed him before he could get a diagnosis.
一天晚上，拜登发表了一篇长篇演讲后，回到酒店房间昏倒了。医生在他的大脑下面发现了一个动脉瘤。如果他还在积极参与竞选，这很有可能在确诊之前就把他害死了。
As it was, he had the chance to make a full recovery, but only after a delicate and very risky operation.
事实上，他有机会完全康复，只是需要一次精妙而危险的手术。
After several surgeries and months of recuperation, Joe Biden pulled through. But he was a changed man.
经过几次手术和几个月的休养，乔·拜登挺过来了。但他变了。
For the first time in a long time, he’d had the chance to rest. He realized there were more important things than moving through life atbreakneck speed. The health scare put the whole world of politics into perspective. Biden had no less passion for the job, but he knew that he had to keep his work in balance with all the other things that he loved.
很长一段时间以来，他第一次有机会休息。他意识到还有比以极快的速度生活更重要的事情。健康危机让他重新认知整个政治世界。拜登对这项工作的热情丝毫不减，但他知道，他必须平衡工作与所热爱的一切。
Time away also gave Biden a chance to reflect on the contribution he wanted to make to the world. His handling of the Supreme Court nomination had been widely praised as sensitive and fair. There was so much more he wanted to achieve as a senator.
修养这段时间也让拜登有机会反思他想为世界做出的贡献。他对最高法院提名的处理被广泛称赞为敏感和公正。作为一名参议员，他还想取得更多的成就。
Back in the Senate, he got to work on ambitious projects, like crafting a Violence Against Women Act, that addressed the epidemic of domestic violence in America. He also threw himself into foreign policy work, lobbying hard for then-president Clinton to take action against Slobodan Miloevi, the ex-president of the former Yugoslavia, who was indicted in May 1999 for crimes against humanity during the Kosovo War.
回到参议院后，他开始致力于雄心勃勃的项目，比如制定一项针对妇女暴力的法案，以解决美国家庭暴力问题。他还致力于外交政策工作，努力游说当时的克林顿总统对前南斯拉夫前总统斯洛博丹·米洛舍维奇采取行动，斯洛博丹·米洛舍维奇于1999年5月因在科索沃战争期间犯下反人类罪而被起诉
Being forcefully taken out of action during his long return to health meant Biden came back with more determination. He knew what he wanted to focus on, and how to play to his strengths. And he planned to keep working in the Senate for a long time to come.
在漫长的恢复健康的过程中，拜登被迫停止了工作，这意味着拜登回来时更加坚定。他知道自己想专注于什么，以及如何发挥自己的优势。他计划在未来很长一段时间内继续在参议院工作。
Run for the presidency again再次竞选
The 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon changed the United States in ways Joe Biden could never have imagined.
9/11恐怖袭击世贸中心和五角大楼的事件大大改变了美国，其改变之大乔·拜登无法想象的。
In the immediate aftermath, he wasbowled over by the outpouring of solidarityfrom the rest of the world. He thought that the tragedy would bring opportunities to unite with other countries and fight terrorism on an international scale.
紧接着，他被世界上其他国家潮水般地一致声援深深吸引。他认为，这场悲剧将带来机会联合其他国家在国际范围内打击恐怖主义。
Then-president Bush seemed open to pursuing this kind of foreign policy, and his secretary of state – Colin Powell – was astaunchinternationalist. But Biden underestimated the influence of vice-president Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld, who headed the Defense Department. Under their guidance, Bush gave orders for the US to head into war with Iraq, a war that would cost many thousands of lives and billions of dollars.
当时的布什总统似乎对推行这种外交政策持开放态度，而他的国务卿鲍威尔是一位坚定的国际主义者。但是拜登低估了副总统迪克·切尼和国防部部长唐纳德·拉姆斯菲尔德的影响力。在他们的指导下，布什下令美国与伊拉克开战，这场战争将耗费数千人的生命和数十亿美元。
The Iraq war was characterized by corruption, incompetence, and a dangerous disregardfor human life. By flouting the Geneva convention, and encouraging torture at Guantanamo Bay, it left a stain on the reputation of the US as a moral leader.
伊拉克战争的特点是腐败、无能和对生命的危险漠视。它藐视日内瓦公约，鼓励在关塔那摩湾监狱实施酷刑，给美国作为道德领袖的声誉留下了污点。
When Bush was re-elected in 2004, Biden was devastated. He knew that the US would continue to suffer during Bushs second term, and that the future of the country depended on the Democrats being able to take back control in 2008. For the first time, he seriously considered running for the presidency again. But he was mindful of the impact on his family, and how much Jill and his children had suffered during the last campaign.
当布什2004年连任时，拜登非常沮丧。他知道，在布什的第二任期内，美国将继续受苦，美国的未来取决于民主党能否在2008年夺回控制权。他第一次认真考虑再次竞选总统。但他很清楚这对他的家庭造成的影响，以及吉尔和孩子在上一次竞选中遭受的巨大痛苦。
When the Bidens got together for their annual Christmas holiday, Jill told him that they were having a family meeting. He thought they were going to beg him not to run, but he was wrong. In fact, Jill told him that they wanted him to make a presidential bid. The family believed that he had what it takes to unite the country, and they were willing to stand behind him.
当拜登家族在一年一度的圣诞聚会时，吉尔告诉他，家人正在开家庭会议。他以为家人会求他不要竞选总统，但他错了。事实上，吉尔告诉他家人想让他竞选总统。家人相信他有能力团结国家，他们愿意支持他。
The matter was decided. Biden announced that he’d run for the Democratic nomination in 2008. Almost 20 years after his first attempt, he now knew exactly why he wanted to be president, and what he’d do on his first day in office.
下定决心后，拜登宣布他将在2008年竞选民主党提名。在他第一次竞选之后将近20年，他现在清楚地知道自己为什么想当总统，以及他上任第一天会做些什么。
总结
Joe Biden’s long and eventful political career is notable for his unflinchingcommitment to his principles. From his earliest days on the county council, he’s fought for what he believes, even when it’s made him unpopular. Biden has faced adversity in his personal and political life, but by taking it head-on he’s managed to come back stronger and more resilient. And while his first bid for the Democratic nomination in 1987 was unsuccessful, Biden was undeterred. He chose to run again in 2008 because he knew he had what it takes to unite the country, and was determined to serve as president of the United States.
乔·拜登漫长而丰富政治生涯以他对原则的坚定执著而闻名。从早期县议会，他一直在为自己的信仰而战，即使这让他不受欢迎。拜登在他的个人和政治生活中都面临过逆境，但迎难而上，他挺过来了，变得更加坚强，更有韧性。尽管1987年他第一次竞选民主党候选人未获成功，拜登却丝毫没有受挫。他选择在2008年再次参选，因为他知道自己有能力团结国家，并决心担任美国总统。
