麦凯恩的败选演说
这是一次没有多少悬念的大选。当全世界的目光都集中在芝加哥的时候，却很少有人关注亚利桑那的大峡谷——麦凯恩的家乡。在他当年举行婚礼的酒店里，麦凯恩发表了一篇令人潸然泪下的败选演说，承认失败。麦凯恩已经年过七旬，与奥巴马的父亲同年。对这位越战英雄来说，这次竞选，可能是他政治生涯中最后的辉煌机会。我能理解这对他来说有多么重要，但是相比于胜负，还有更高贵的东西存在。推荐各位一读。
演说译文 (Jawley 版)
谢谢。谢谢，我的朋友们。谢谢你们在这个美丽的亚利桑那的夜晚来到这里。我的朋友们，我们已经——已经走到了从这次长征的终点。美国人民已经表了态，清楚地表了态。就在刚才，我荣幸地打电话给巴拉克·奥巴马参议员，祝贺他，（示意听众停止嘘声），祝贺他当选为这个我们同样热爱的国家的新总统。
这次大选如此漫长而又艰辛，他的胜利本身就已经足够赢得我对他能力与毅力的尊重。况且，他是通过唤醒成千上万美国人的希望而当选，这些人原先曾错误地以为自己在美国总统的选举中无足轻重。这一成就令我深深敬佩和赞赏。
这是一次历史性的选举，我清楚这次选举对于非洲裔美国人的特殊意义，今晚这个特别的荣耀必定属于他们。
我始终相信，美国为所有勤奋和愿意抓住机遇的人提供机遇。奥巴马参议员也相信这一点。但是我们也都承认，从前的不公正曾经让我们的国家蒙羞，有一些美国人得不到美国公民应得的祝福。虽然我们已经远离这些不公，然而它们留下的记忆还在伤害我们。
一个世纪前，西奥多·罗斯福总统邀请黑人教育家布克·T·华盛顿到白宫共进晚餐，这件事情曾引起众怒。今天的美国已经远离了那个时代残忍而傲慢的偏 执。今晚，一个非洲裔美国人当选为美国总统，就是最好的证明。现在，作为世界上最伟大国家的公民，任何一个美国人都没有有理由自暴自弃了。
奥巴马参议员已经为他自己、为他的国家赢得了最伟大的东西。我为他喝彩，同时也致以我诚挚的同情，因为他所爱戴的外祖母没有能够活着看到这一天。但我们的信念告诉我们，她正在她的上帝身边安息，她会为这位亲手抚养长大的好孩子感到自豪。
奥巴马参议员与我有过分歧，进行过争论，而且他赢了。毫无疑问，许多分歧仍然存在。但是我们的国家目前正处在困难之中，今天晚上，我向他保证，我将会尽我的全力来帮助他，让他领导我们一起，克服我们所面对的诸多困局。
我呼吁所有支持我的美国人，跟我一起，不仅是跟我一起祝贺他，也要跟我一起祝福新总统，一起真诚努力，团结一心，在我们的分歧中寻求必要的妥协，一 起恢复我们的繁荣，一起在危险的世界上捍卫我们的安全，留给给我们的子孙一个更强大、更美好的国家，比我们从前辈手里继承的那个更好。
无论我们有什么分歧，我们都是美国同胞。请相信我的话：对我来说，没有什么联系比这更重要。
自然，自然，今晚，令人有些失望。但是明天，我们必须越过失望，继续前行。携手工作，让我们的国家重新前进。去奋斗……去奋斗，用尽我们的全力。虽然我们没有达到目标，但失败的只是我，不是你们。
我深深地感激大家，感谢你们的支持，感谢你们为我做的一切，这是我最大的荣幸。我多么希望结果不是这样，我的朋友们。这条道路从一开始就充满了艰辛，但是你们的支持和友谊从没有动摇过。我欠你们太多了，我实在不知道该如何表达。
我尤其感谢我的妻子辛迪、我的孩子们、我亲爱的母亲和所有家庭成员，还有许许多多亲爱的老朋友们，你们在漫长而跌宕起伏的竞选过程中一直站在我身边。我一直是个幸运的人，但是你们给我的爱和鼓励，是让我最感幸运的。
大家知道，竞选对于候选人的家庭往往更残酷，这次也确实如此。我能补偿你们的，只有我的爱与感激，还有我向你们承诺，未来会有一些平静的日子。
还有，当然，我也非常感谢莎拉·佩林州长，她是我见过的最好的竞选伙伴之一，她给我们党的改革和原则带来的新的声音，令人印象深刻，一直是我们最强 大的力量之一。谢谢她的丈夫托德和他们 5个漂亮的孩子，在这次总统竞选中为我们不知疲倦地奉献，展示了勇气和风度。我们可以满心期待她未来更好地为阿拉斯加、为共和党和我们的国家服务。
谢谢我的竞选伙伴们，从里克·戴维斯、史蒂夫·施密特、马克·萨尔特，到所有的志愿者，你们在这场也许是当代最具挑战性的选举中，所有如此努力奋斗，一个月又一个月。深深感谢你们。选举的失败，与你们的信任以及友情相比，根本算不了什么。
我不知道——我不知道我们还要做什么才能赢得这场选举。这个问题留给别人去回答吧。每一位候选人都会犯下错误，我可以肯定我也不例外，但我不会去想“我本可以如何”，把未来的时间浪费在遗憾中。
这次选举是我人生中的巨大荣幸，未来也是。我的心中只有感激，感激这份经历，感激美国人民在选择奥巴马参议员以及我的老朋友乔·拜登参议员来领导我们的下一个四年之前，公平地倾听了我的观点。
非常荣幸，命运允许我为这个国家服务半个世纪之久。如果我对此感到遗憾的话，就不配做美国人。今天，我曾是我所热爱的这个国家最高职位的候选人。而今夜，我仍是她的仆人。这对任何人来说，都是足够幸福的事情了。为此，我感谢亚利桑那人民。
今夜——今夜，我心中只有爱，比其它任何一个夜晚都更深地热爱这个国家，热爱全体国民，无论他们支持我还是奥巴马参议员。我把祝福送给那个曾经是我对手、将要成为我的总统的人。
我呼吁所有美国人，就像我在竞选中经常呼吁的那样，不要因我们眼前的困难而绝望，要永远信仰美国的未来与伟大，因为这里没有克服不了的困难。
美国人永远不会放弃。我们决不投降。我们从不逃避历史，我们创造历史。
谢谢，上帝祝福你们，上帝祝福美国。深深感谢你们所有人。
John McCain’s Concession Speech
Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening. My friends, we have — we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Sen. Barack Obama to congratulate him — please (stop booing) — to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.
In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.
This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.
I’ve always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Sen. Obama believes that, too. But we both recognize that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation’s reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.
A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt’s invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African American to the presidency of the United States. Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.
Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer in my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day, though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.
Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain. These are difficult times for our country, and I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.
I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.
Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.
It is natural. It’s natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again. We fought as hard as we could. We fought — we fought as hard as we could. And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours.
I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honor of your support and for all you have done for me. I wish the outcome had been different, my friends. The road was a difficult one from the outset. But your support and friendship never wavered. I cannot adequately express how deeply indebted I am to you.
I am especially grateful to my wife, Cindy, my children, my dear mother and all my family and to the many old and dear friends who have stood by my side through the many ups and downs of this long campaign. I have always been a fortunate man, and never more so for the love and encouragement you have given me.
You know, campaigns are often harder on a candidate’s family than on the candidate, and that’s been true in this campaign. All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude, and the promise of more peaceful years ahead.
I am also, of course, very thankful to Governor Sarah Palin, one of the best campaigners I have ever seen and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength. Her husband Todd and their five beautiful children with their tireless dedication to our cause, and the courage and grace they showed in the rough-and-tumble of a presidential campaign. We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican Party and our country.
To all my campaign comrades, from Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, to every last volunteer who fought so hard and valiantly month after month in what at times seemed to be the most challenged campaign in modern times, thank you so much. A lost election will never mean more to me than the privilege of your faith and friendship.
I don’t know –I don’t know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I’ll leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes, and I’m sure I made my share of them. But I won’t spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been.
This campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life. And my heart is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Senator Obama and my old friend Senator Joe Biden should have the honor of leading us for the next four years.
I would not be an American worthy of the name, should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century. Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone and I thank the people of Arizona for it.
Tonight — tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Senator Obama, I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president.
And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties but to believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.
Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history, we make history.
Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much.
