与未来的总统谈恋爱是一种什么样的经历

绘◎马豆子

与未来的总统谈恋爱是一种什么样的经历

Love Story of Bill and Hillary Clinton

绘◎马豆子

美国前总统比尔·克林顿说不定要成为该国the fi rst “First Gentleman”了。不过要当好这个角色须有一项必备技能，演讲！ 在2016年7月26日晚的民主党大会上，比尔·克林顿也为自己的妻子站上了演讲台，力挺希拉里。这场演讲，克林顿赞美希拉里的政绩之余，还破天荒大谈两人的甜蜜恋爱史。

In the spring of 1971 I met a girl.

The first time I saw her we were， appropriately①appropriately 英 ［əˈprəʊpriətli］ 美 ［ə'proprɪ，etlɪ］adv. 适当地；合适地；相称地enough， in a class on political and civil rights. She had thick blond hair， big glasses， wore no makeup， and she had a sense of strength and self-possession②possession 英 ［pə'zeʃ（ə）n］ 美 ［pə'zɛʃən］ n. 拥有；财产；领地；自制；着迷that I found magnetic③magnetic 英 ［mæg'netɪk］ 美 ［mæg'nɛtɪk］ adj. 地磁的；有磁性的；有吸引力的.

A couple of days later， I saw her again. I remember， she was wearing a long， white， flowery skirt. And I went up to her and she said she was going to register④register 英 ［'redʒɪstə］ 美 ［'rɛdʒɪstɚ］ vt. 登记；注册；记录；挂号邮寄；把……挂号；正式提出vi. 登记；注册；挂号n.登记；注册；记录；寄存器；登记簿for classes for the next term. And I said I'd go， too. And we stood in line and talked — you had to do that to register back then — and I thought I was doing pretty well until we got to the front of the line and the registrar looked up and said， “Bill， what are you doing here， you registered morning？”

I turned red and she laughed that big laugh of hers. And I thought，well， heck， since my cover' s been blown I just went ahead and asked her to take a walk down to the art museum.

We've been walking and talking and laughing together ever since. And we've done it in good times and bad， through joy and heartbreak. We cried together this morning on the news that our good friend and a lot of your good friend， Mark Weiner， passed away early this morning.

We've built up a lifetime of memories. After the first month and that first walk， I actually drove her home to Park Ridge， Illinois， to meet her family and see the town where she grew up， a perfect example of post World War II middle-class America， street after street of nice houses， great schools， good parks， a big public swimming pool， and almost all white.

I was trying to convince her to marry me.

I first proposed to her on a trip to Great Britain， the first time she had been overseas. And we were on the shoreline⑤shoreline 英 ［'ʃɔːlaɪn］ 美 ［'ʃɔrlaɪn］ n. 海岸线；海岸线地带of this wonderful little lake， Lake Ennerdale. I asked her to marry me and she said I can't do it.

So in 1974 I went home to teach in the law school and Hillary moved to Massachusetts… to keep working on children's issues.

Meanwhile， I was still trying to get her to marry me.

So the second time I tried a different tack. I said I really want you to marry me， but you shouldn't do it.

And she smiled and looked at me， like， what is this boy up to？ She said that is not a very good sales pitch⑥pitch 英 ［pɪtʃ］ 美 ［pɪtʃ］ vi. 倾斜；投掷；搭帐篷；坠落vt. 投；掷；定位于；用沥青涂；扎营；向前倾跌n. 沥青；音高；程度；树脂；倾斜；投掷；球场. I said I know， but it's true. And I meant it， it was true.

I said I know most of the young Democrats our age who want to go into politics， they mean well and they speak well， but none of them is as good as you are at actually doing things to make positive changes in people's lives.

So I suggested she go home to Illinois or move to New York and look for a chance to run for office. She just laughed and said， “are you out of you mind，nobody would ever vote for me.”

And one day I was driving her to the airport to fl y back to Chicago. When we passed this little brick house that had a for sale sign on it， she said， “boy，that's a pretty house.” It had 1，100 square feet， an atticfan and no air conditioner in hot Arkansas， and a screened-in porch⑦porch 英 ［pɔːtʃ］ 美 ［pɔrtʃ］ n. 门廊；走廊.

Hillary commented on what a uniquely designed and beautiful house it was. So I took a big chance. I bought the house. My mortgage⑧mortgage 英 ［'mɔːgɪdʒ］ 美 ［'mɔrgɪdʒ］vt. 抵押n. 抵押was $175 a month.

When she came back， I picked up her up and I said， “you remember that house you liked” She said yeah. I said， “while you were gone I bought it， you have to marry me now.”

The third time was the charm.

1971年的春天，我遇到了一个女孩。

我第一次见到她，是在政治与公民权利的课堂上，真应景。她金发浓密，戴着一副大眼镜，素面朝天，自带一种坚毅和沉着的气场，我被她深深地吸引了。

几天后，我再次遇见她。我还记得，她穿的是一件长长的白色印花裙。我走过去，她告诉我，她正准备去登记注册下学期要上的课程。我说，真巧我也要去。然后我们就排着队聊着天（是的，那时候注册课程就是要现场排队），我还想着自己真是太机智了，谁知当我们排到队伍最前头的时候，工作人员抬头看看我，然后问：“比尔，你来做什么？你不是上午就注册过了吗？”

我的脸“唰”地一下红了，而她当场大笑——就像你们后来所见过那种大笑。我那时想，好吧，见鬼，既然被戳穿了，那我干脆直接邀请她和我散步到艺术博物馆去吧。

从那时起，我们就一直这样，一起走着聊着笑着，不论生活顺与不顺，不论我们是喜悦还是伤悲。就在今天早上，我俩还因为共同的好朋友Mark Weiner去世的消息而一起落泪。

我们共同创造了一辈子的记忆。就在那个月和那次散步之后，我开车送她回到位于伊利诺伊州帕克里奇的家中，见到了她的家人，也看到了她从小长大的城镇。那是一座典型的后二战中产美国城镇。一条街连着一条街林立着漂亮的房子、学校、公园，还有一个很大的公共游泳池，几乎清一色的白色。

之后，我努力说服她嫁给我。

第一次求婚是在我们去英国的旅途中，在那之前她没有出过国。那时我们在一个名为恩纳代尔的美丽的小湖边，我请求希拉里嫁给我，她说，不行。

于是1974年，我回到家乡，在一所法学院任教。希拉里则搬到了马萨诸塞州，继续忙着为儿童争取权益。

但我没有放弃，还想着要把她娶回家。

所以，第二次求婚时我换了一个套路。我对她说：“我真的很希望你能嫁给我，但你不该这样做。”

她微笑地看着我，那表情就像在问，这孩子在干吗呢？她说，这可不是一句很好的求婚台词。我说我知道，但我说的是实话，我也确实是这么想的。

我跟她说，我知道，绝大部分像我们这样年轻的民主党人如果想要步入政坛，他们多半是怀着美好的愿望，说着漂亮的话，但没有哪个比得上你，用实际行动来改变人们的生活。

于是，我建议她回到伊利诺伊州，或者搬到纽约去，在那些地方寻找竞选参政的机会。她笑了，然后说：“你疯了吧，没有人会给我投票的。”

后来有一天，我开车送她去机场搭乘飞回芝加哥的航班。我们经过一座贴着“出售”布告的小砖房时，她说：“嘿，这房子真漂亮。”那房子有1100平方英尺大（约102平方米），坐落在炎热的阿肯色州却只有吊扇而没有空调，还带一个封闭式的门廊。

希拉里夸它设计独特，相当漂亮。所以，我决定赌一把，买下了这座房子。当时我按揭付款，每个月是175美元。

她回来的那天，我去接她，问她：“还记得你说你喜欢的那个房子吗？”她说记得呀。我说：“你走了以后我把它买下来了，现在你必须要嫁给我了。”

嗯，凡事做到第三次总是会成功的。