政界歧視 肥胖真的影響競選嗎

Is fat really an electoral issue?

肥胖真的影響競選嗎？

Even before Bridgegate and questions around his conservative credentials began to erode Chris Christie’s poll numbers, his weight was a point of contention in discussions about whether the New Jersey governor would make a credible presidential nominee.

甚至在橋門事件(Bridgegate)之前，在針對克里斯·克里斯蒂(Chris Christie)保守政績的質疑開始影響他的支持人數之前，這位新澤西州長的體重已經是他能否成爲總統候選人的討論焦點。

Back in 2012, Barbara Walters asked Mr. Christie whether “you couldn’t be president because you’re too heavy?” And in a Rutgers-Eagleton Poll released in February, 53 percent of New Jersey voters found that he did not have the “right look” to be president — despite the fact that he had lost significant amounts of weight after lap-band surgery in 2013.

2012年，芭芭拉·沃爾特斯(Barbara Walters)問克里斯蒂“你是否會因爲太胖而無法成爲總統”。今年2月發佈的拉特格斯-伊格爾頓民意調查(Rutgers-Eagleton Poll)發現，53%的新澤西投票人認爲，克里斯蒂沒有總統的“樣子”——儘管他在2013年接受胃束帶手術後，體重已經下降了很多。

But while that in turn gave way to all sorts of editorializing about whether the United States was a fattist country, and so on, it turns out that the weight thing, when it comes to political campaigns, is not in fact solely an American question.

由此出現了各種社論，討論美國究竟是不是世界上最胖的國家。不過，事實證明，在政治競選中，體重不只是美國獨有的問題。

It has popped up in Britain, too. And as its electoral cycle kicked off last week, when Prime Minister David Cameron officially asked the Queen to dissolve Parliament, it was front and center, thanks to an interview Mr. Cameron gave to The Times of London, in which it was revealed that he had lost 13 pounds in three months by renouncing peanuts and cookies and cutting down on carbs.

這個問題也出現在英國。上週，英國首相戴維·卡梅倫(David Cameron)正式提請女王解散議會，啓動大選。體重問題成爲當時的一個焦點。卡梅倫在接受倫敦《泰晤士報》(The Times)採訪時稱，通過不吃花生和餅乾、減少碳水化合物的攝入，他在三個月裏減了13磅。

This came after an earlier pledge to lose weight made in January on BBC Radio Sussex, in which the prime minister called his efforts to slim down “a great patriotic struggle.”

今年1月，首相卡梅倫在BBC薩塞克斯電臺節目中發誓減肥，說自己的減肥是“偉大的愛國行動”。

And it was followed by praise for Chancellor George Osborne’s previous and significant weight loss, achieved by going on the 5:2 diet (the one made popular by the Jennifers Aniston and Lopez in which you eat what you want for five days, and then effectively fast for two).

之前，財政大臣喬治·奧斯本(George Osborne)通過5:2減肥法（隨心所欲吃五天，然後有效禁食兩天，這種方法因被詹妮弗·安妮斯頓[Jennifer Aniston]和詹妮弗·洛佩茲[Jennifer Lopez]採納而廣爲流行）明顯減輕體重，獲得人們的讚揚。

As the race to become the next prime minister begins two years of Western electoral cycles, with Canada expected to go to the polls later this year, America about to descend into a 16-month race that began last month with the Ted Cruz declaration, and France gearing up for its 2017 election, the weight card is shaping up — pun intended — into something of a modern strategic tool. At least (and this is particularly interesting) among the men.

英國首相選舉拉開了西方國家兩年大選期的序幕：加拿大有望在今年晚些時候開始投票；上個月，特德·克魯茲(Ted Cruz)宣佈參加美國總統選舉，標誌着爲期16個月的美國大選開始；法國正在爲2017年大選做準備。“體重牌”正成爲一種現代戰略手段。至少在男競選人當中是這樣（這一點特別有趣）。

In 2012, part of François Hollande’s pre-election makeover involved a public promise to diet (one of his less flattering nicknames was “Flanby”) and a subsequent 15-kilogram (33-pound) weight loss. In 2006, Mike Huckabee, a potential candidate from Arkansas, actually published a diet book, “Quit Digging Your Grave With a Knife and Fork.” Jeb Bush has revealed he follows the Paleo diet. Such history would suggest that where Mr. Cameron has gone this time around, all three may soon follow. (Mr. Huckabee, who has gained a fair amount of girth in the last few years, certainly has opportunity here.)

2012年，弗朗索瓦·奧朗德(François Hollande)的預選策略包括公開承諾減肥（他的一個不太好聽的綽號是“Flanby牌焦糖布丁”），後來他減了15公斤。2006年，阿肯色州潛在總統候選人邁克·赫卡比(Mike Huckabee)出版了一本減肥書——《不要再用刀叉自掘墳墓了》(Quit Digging Your Grave With a Knife and Fork)。傑布·布什(Jeb Bush)曾透露他採用舊石器時代飲食法(Paleo diet)。這樣的歷史表明，既然卡梅倫能實現諾言，這三個人可能很快也會減肥成功（在過去幾年裏，赫卡比的腰圍已經減了不少，他肯定能成功）。

Fitness, for obvious reasons, has always been part of the leadership arsenal, with the workout photo op seeming almost de rigueur, be it jogging (Bill Clinton, Mr. Cameron); golf or basketball (Barack Obama); or hunting (Vladimir Putin). But the public discussion of executive waistline issues is a relatively new development. And presumably a calculated one.

顯然，健身始終是展示領導能力的武器，發佈鍛鍊照片幾乎是常規做法，不管是跑步（比爾·克林頓[Bill Clinton]、卡梅倫）；打高爾夫球或打籃球（巴拉克·奧巴馬[Barack Obama]）；還是打獵（弗拉基米爾·普京[Vladimir Putin]）。不過，公衆對國家領袖腰圍的討論是相對較新的發展——很可能是一個蓄意策劃的發展。

Party leaders need to use every tool at their disposal, including personal weight battles. At least judging by how it is working in Britain.

政黨領袖需要利用自己能夠支配的所有手段，包括個人減肥。至少，目前看來，這種手段在英國有用。

After all, one of the biggest complaints about Mr. Cameron is that he is part of the old-boy network: a former member of Oxford University’s exclusive Bullingdon Club and hence too removed from the experience of average Britons to be able to understand their concerns. Admitting to a shared human weakness (and on the human weakness scale, a yen for fatty food is relatively harmless) serves to render him accessible. He can relate. Your problems are his problems.

畢竟，民衆對卡梅倫最大的一項不滿在於，他是老夥伴關係網中的一員：他曾參加牛津大學極度排外的布靈頓俱樂部(Bullingdon Club)，因此與普通英國人的生活離得太遠，無法理解他們關注的東西。承認自己有一個人類共同的弱點（在人類弱點的天平上，喜歡吃油膩食物相對無害）能讓他顯得更可親近。他跟你有關係。你的問題也是他的問題。

Paired with Mr. Cameron’s admission in Woman & Home magazine that his wife, Samantha, buys his clothes for him, the diet discussion casts the Tory leader pretty neatly as a regular Joe.

卡梅倫接受《婦女與家庭》(Woman & Home)雜誌採訪時承認，他的衣服都是妻子薩曼莎(Samantha)買的。再加上關於減肥的討論，讓這位託利黨領袖看起來很像普通人。

A regular Joe who has (this is key) won the battle. Stuck to his plan. Did what he said he would do. Exercised discipline. And otherwise exemplified qualities that are generally considered desirable in a leader. Especially one engaged in justifying an austerity drive.

一個能戰勝自己（這是關鍵）的普通人、堅持計劃、實踐承諾、嚴於律己。這些優秀品質通常是人們希望在領導人身上看到的，尤其是對一個推行緊縮政策的領導人來說。

Indeed, it is probably not a coincidence that the political weight stories are all success stories.

具有政治用意的減肥故事都以成功告終——這很可能不是巧合。

Just as it is probably not a coincidence that the one thing that is never mentioned regarding a female candidate, be it Hillary Clinton or Nicola Sturgeon of the Scottish National Party or Marine Le Pen, is her weight. Clothes and hair are fair game, it seems, but weight is the off-limits topic.

人們從來不提女候選人的體重——不管是希拉里·克林頓(Hillary Clinton)、蘇格蘭民族黨(Scottish National Party)的妮古拉·斯特金(Nicola Sturgeon)，還是瑪麗娜·勒龐(Marine Le Pen)——這很可能也不是巧合。談論她們的服裝和髮型似乎還算公平，但體重是禁忌話題。

Indeed, when the Christie-poundage brouhaha began, there was some Twitter noise about the discrepancy (“Just wondering why the press always makes an issue of Chris Christie’s weight but never mentions Hillary’s ampleness?” shannon allen @usacsmret), but it never found any real traction. Weight is so bound up in classic questions of gender discrimination, identity and eating disorders that no one dares go there. (Except, maybe, Susie Orbach.)

的確，當關於克里斯蒂體重的爭吵開始時，有些人在Twitter上質疑這種差別待遇（“只是不明白爲什麼媒體總是討論克里斯·克里斯蒂的體重，卻從不提希拉里的豐滿？”shannon allen@usacsmret），不過，這樣的質疑從來沒有引起很大反響。體重問題太容易觸發性別歧視、身份和飲食紊亂等老生常談，所以沒人敢碰（當然，也許除了蘇茜·奧巴赫[Susie Orbach]）。

Unless the subject is a man.

除非談論對象是男人。

We go on and on about how unfair it is to women in positions of authority that their fashion statements are endlessly discussed and dissected, as opposed to their vocal statements (though I would say the two are related).

權勢女人的服裝風格總是被沒完沒了地討論和剖析，而她們的主張卻沒有引起那麼多關注（雖然我認爲這兩者是相關的）——我們經常抱怨這樣的不公平。

Yet here is a case of appearance-centric talk that is men-only. And it is a discussion that has been started largely by the candidates themselves, to their own ends. Which is why I would guess it is going to continue.

圍繞外貌的討論僅限於對男士。這些討論大多是候選人自己發起的，是爲了實現他們自己的利益。所以我覺得這種情況還會繼續。

At least if Mr. Cameron comes out on top on May 7. After all, Jim Messina, one of the masterminds of President Obama’s 2012 re-election, is working with the Cameron team. He’s going to be looking for another candidate to coach soon enough. This may give him something to chew on.

至少如果5月7日卡梅倫獲勝的話，情況還會是如此。畢竟，目前卡梅倫團隊中有吉姆·梅西納(Jim Messina)，他曾是巴拉克·奧巴馬2012年第二次競選總統時的主要策劃者之一。如果卡梅倫獲勝，他很快將再找一位候選人進行指導。這是他大做文章的一件事。