时间：2022-05-06 11:33:11
美国大选已经尘埃落定。虽然奥巴马继续担任美国总统，可是这一路走得也颇为困难。让我们可以从美国总统候选人首轮电视辩论中，领略到罗姆尼的来势汹汹，以及奥巴马的出师不利。这里就让我们一起来解读这两位大选热门人选。
U S president Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney had their first round of presidential debates. These debates are widely regarded as one of the key moments in the US election campaign.
The two candidates addressed key issues including tax policies， healthcare and the role of the government. Judging from numerous media analyses and polls after the event， it was Romney who emerged with the upper hand. He was presidential， articulate and strong. Obama， on the other hand， was “stumbling， rambling， dull?edged” and spent most of the debate on the defensive， said an article in The Atlantic.
It seems Romney’s hard work paid off. According to The New York Times he has been doing debate preparation since June. Meanwhile， Obama’s campaign team has been telling journalists how little time he has had to prepare due to his heavy workload as incumbent.
The next two debates were scheduled for October 16 and 22. Their outcome had a strong influence on those who haven’t yet decided how to vote. Perhaps the president should spend more time honing his debating skills.
So， how does a candidate prepare for these oral fights？
Candidates enjoy the extra income of having a prep team to arrange mock debate sessions and give them feedback. The prep team’s key task is to put together a briefing book on policy for the candidate， in addition to a position book detailing the opponent’s stance on key issues.
The team also tries to anticipate potential questions right down to their possible phrasing， said Tad Devine in a recent interview with the BBC. Devine is a senior adviser who helped with previous presidential debates.
A candidate is generally advised to stick to familiar places， using tried and tested material. Sharp one?liner attacks known as “zingers” are a key part of this approach and can be very effective.
Romney is said to have been came in handy. He said： “Mr. President， practicing zingers， which you’re entitled， as the president， to your own airplane and to your own house， but not to your own facts.”
One of the most important rules， says Devine， is to have a central message that you drive home to the audience repeatedly. Also make sure you answer the question， and do so right away. “Once you’ve answered， you can go on and talk about what you want to talk about，” says Devine.
Another rule is never to show disdain for the opponent， but Obama has apparently forgotten this. “Professorial” is the word media outlets used most frequently to describe Obama’s mannerism. He was busy taking notes and didn’t make a lot of eye contact with either Romney or the cameras.
Whereas Romney managed to“keep a choirboy smile pasted on his face”， the president was quick to drop his friendliness and adopted “the look of a long?suffering headmaster bearing the excuses of a bright student he is going to expel，” said a The New York Times article.
It is no secret that Obama doesn’t like Romney， but after the first debate he might admit that Romney is a formidable opponent after all.