参考译文：

塔夫脱、威尔逊和罗斯福在1912年的大选中相互斗法

本周，我们向你讲述美国1912年总统大选。在二十世纪第一个十年中，美国由强硬的领导人西奥多.罗斯福总统领导，而在第二个十年，他又回到了国家政治生活之中，并且再一次将戏剧性变化带给了美国。西奥多.罗斯福是1933年当选美国总统的民主党人富兰克林.罗斯福的远亲。在1912年总统大选中，特迪.罗斯福组建了一个新的政党：进步党，这是罗斯福在失去共和党提名后创建的政党。

共和党1912年总统候选人提名大会已经被支持威廉.霍华德.塔夫脱的保守派所控制，因此该提名大会提名塔夫脱为该党1912年大选的总统候选人。

结果，罗斯福与共和党决裂了，他与他的支持者自行召开提名大会，他们成立了进步党，并设立一个致力于改革的讲坛，他们提出了许多建立为人民服务的政府和推动社会进步，更好地满足人民群众愿望的建议。民主党也提名一个支持推进改革的人为总统候选人，这个人就是新泽西州州长伍德罗.威尔逊（Woodrow Wilson），他是前普林斯顿大学的校长。所以，多少年来，美国第一次出现三位重要的候选人参加总统选举。形势很明显，威尔逊获胜的机会最大，因为他得到所有民主党人的支持。而共和党则已经分裂了，有些人支持塔夫脱，有些人支持罗斯福。

罗斯福拒绝就要被击败的看法，他努力参加竞选活动，他访问许多城镇，发表一个又一个演讲。同样，威尔逊也积极参加竞选活动，他似乎与罗斯福一样，在竞选中获得乐趣。而塔夫脱则完全不一样，他不喜欢竞选活动，他大部分时间都呆在度夏的家里。在十月之前，此次竞选一直是比较平静的，然而，就在大选前三周，罗斯福被枪击了。

这事发生在威斯康星州的密尔沃基（Milwaukee）。当时，罗斯福刚刚离开宾馆，准备上车前往会堂发表演讲。当他站在敞开车门的车上时，一个叫约翰.施兰克（John Schrank）的激进分子跑向他，从他的外衣里向罗斯福开枪，一颗子弹射进了罗斯福的胸膛。这颗子弹将他击倒了。罗斯福说，他感觉好像是被骡子给踢了一脚。他跳起来，用手捂住伤口。这颗子弹射向了他上衣的口袋，射穿了眼镜盒（铁的），然后穿过五十页的演讲稿，这所有的一切都阻碍了子弹的速度，最后这颗子弹只射入其胸口一点点。

罗斯福不知道他的伤势是否严重，他用手捂住口，并不断地咳嗽，但没有血，于是他知道这次枪击并没有伤害到他的肺。罗斯福命令围观的人群不要殴打凶手施兰克，“把他带上来”，罗斯福说，他低头看着他，“你这个笨蛋，”罗斯福说。然后他就离开了。不一会，医生来了，医生说，罗斯福必须立即前往医院治疗，但罗斯福拒绝了，他说他要前往会堂，“我要在那发表演讲，”他说，“否则我就要去死，我要么去死，要么就去演讲。”在他前往会堂的路上，他对一个朋友说：“去发表演讲比杀死一个罗斯福重要的多，我一点也不在乎这样的枪击，一点也不！”

在会堂，他站在众人面前，他的脸色很白，但他站得笔直，不用任何的支撑。有人透露说罗斯福受伤了，但他仍然坚持要演讲。罗斯福的声音很低，几乎是在呢喃。“我请求你们保持安静，请允许我发表一个长篇的演讲，我将尽我所能，但我的身上有一颗子弹。”他停顿了一会儿，然后接着说：“没事，我的伤势不严重，我有好多话要说，而且只要我生命允许，我要一直说下去。”

罗斯福的演讲并不重要，他所说的都是他以前说过多次的内容。然而，重要的是他那无畏的勇气。对于他的行为，人们看到的不是愚蠢或作秀，而是一个坚强的人的勇敢行为。对于公众而言，他就是一位英雄。罗斯福讲了近一个小时，最后，他已经很虚弱了，不得不寻求会堂里的帮助。人们匆忙地将他送到医院，以便医生给他检查伤势。

医生们发现那颗子弹打断了他的一根肋骨，但伤势并不严重，他们决定让这颗子弹继续留在体内。第二天，罗斯福在病床上发表了一个声明：“告诉大家不要为我担心，因为如果我死了，别人就会替代我的。”塔夫脱总统和威尔逊都向罗斯福表示问候，他们都宣布，在罗斯福康复之前，他们将不进行竞选活动。

罗斯福的身体恢复很快，休息二周后，他就准备再次进行竞选活动。他在纽约市麦迪逊广场面对很多很多的人发表演讲，当人们看到罗斯福时，都感到很惊讶，他似乎是那样的强壮和健康。第二天，威尔逊在纽约市结束了他的竞选活动，他对欢呼的民主党人说：“民主党人的目标就是接管权力，从事过去十六年共和党所做的事情。”

在11月4日选举日这一天，人民投票选举了。获胜者是伍德罗.威尔逊。他获得了600万张选票，罗斯福获得400万张选票位居第二，塔夫脱只获得350万张选票。在选举人选票中，威尔逊取得了更大的胜利，他共获得435张选举人选票，而罗斯福只获得了88张选举人选票，塔夫脱就更少了，只获得尤他州和佛蒙特州两州的8张选举人选票。民主党不仅赢得了总统大选，而且还控制了国会，另外以前许多由共和党任州长的州现在却由民主党人来担任了。

对于西奥多.罗斯福布而言，1912年的总统大选结束了他的公众生活，在大选结束后不久，一位朋友来看望罗斯福，探讨1916年大选胜利的可能。“我想你是一个优秀的政客，”罗斯福说，“然而斗争已经结束，我们失败了。现在唯一可做的是，回到共和党中去，你不可能掌控一个像进步党这样的政党，那是没有前途的，而且也不会得到财政支持。”

战争在欧洲爆发了。美国是在1917年才介入的。和往常一样，罗斯福已经做好准备要投入战斗，他请求允许他组建一支美国军队，并由他领导前往法国参战。威尔逊总统拒绝了他的请求。罗斯福知道这是一个政治决定，他永远不会宽恕威尔逊不让他参战。尽管罗斯福自己不能参战，但他的四个儿子都参加了战斗，其中他最小的儿子昆廷（Quentin）没能再回来。当他得知儿子牺牲的消息时，他写下了这段话来纪念他的儿子：

“只有那些不怕死的人才适合生存，没有人应该去死，缩短他们生活的乐趣。无论是生还是死，都是伟大的人生旅程的一部分。我们所有致力于服务，准备牺牲的人都是火炬手，我们高举火炬，在我们倒下之前，我们能够将手中的火炬传递给另一个火炬手，如果这样的话，那么我们就心满意足了。火炬因在战场上战斗的勇敢的人和那些失去丈夫、情人、儿子的妇女们和那些共同作战的兄弟们的勇敢行为而更加耀眼。他们都是火炬手。这些人都是勇于经历伟大的人生旅程的人。”

罗斯福自己伟大的人生旅程就要结束了。他身患严重的风湿病，另外耳病也很严重，他的听力很差，行走很困难。但这位老人依然是那样的快乐，他在医院度过了他的六十岁生日。他对他的家人和朋友说：“在六十年中，没有人能够享受所有的乐趣和利益。”某晚，当罗斯福睡觉的时候，死神降临了。当时的副总统托马斯.马歇尔（Thomas Marshall）说：“死神只能在晚上来临，因为如果罗斯福醒的话，那么就还会有战斗存在。”

简评：

西奥多.罗斯福，这位确立美国世界强国地位的强硬领导人，走完了其伟大而辉煌的一生，告别了人世。

也许，他是那样的霸道，也许他是那样的固执，也许他是那样的强硬，也许他的政策有许多不当之处，甚至是错误，然而，他为美国奉献了一生的精力，是他让世界人都知道了美国的主张、美国的力量。他值得美国人的永远铭记，是美国人的骄傲。

他生逢其时，如果不是总统遇刺，他这个副总统不会因此而走上前台；如果不是美国经历内战后，经济取得前所未有的发展，他也不可能让美国在全世界耀武扬威。如果不是由于美国现代化、城镇化和工业化进程导致美国社会问题重重，他也不可能得到美国人民，特别是普通民众的爱戴。

遇时而动，则能成冲天之志。新中国成立已经六十年，改革开放也有三十余年，我们已经取得了前所未有的成绩，奠定了我们成为世界大国，甚至强国的物质基础。此时，我们需要的是像西奥多.罗斯福那样强硬的领导人，在全球昭示我们的主张，在全球保护我们自己的合法利益。而不至于像现在，天天申明某地是我们固有的领土，却无法真正有效地加以保护，特别是当我们自己的公民前往自己的国土时，还被别人掠去。而我们所能做的还只是声声哀求别人放人，而不能采取主动对等之措施予以还击。

Taft, Wilson and Roosevelt in the Election of 1912　

Theodore Roosevelt at what appears to be the first Progressive Party Convention. They met in August 1912 in Chicago, Illinois, and nominated him to run for president.　1912年，进步党首次在伊利诺伊州芝加哥市召开提名大会，大会提名西奥多.罗斯福为他们的总统候选人

This week in our series, we talk about the presidential election of eighteen twelve. The first ten years of the twentieth century in America were shaped by the strong leadership of President Theodore Roosevelt. And in the second decade, he returned to national politics to bring, once more, dramatic changes to the United States. Theodore Roosevelt was a distant cousin of Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat who became president in nineteen thirty-three. In nineteen twelve, Teddy Roosevelt organized a new political party: the Progressives. Roosevelt created this new party after he failed to win the Republican presidential nomination.　

Theodore Roosevelt

The Republican convention of nineteen twelve had been controlled by conservative supporters of President William Howard Taft. And, the party nominated Taft for four more years in the White House.　

As a result, Roosevelt broke with the Republicans. And he and his supporters held their own convention. They formed the Progressive party and approved a platform that promised reforms. These reforms were proposed to make the government serve the people and carry out more fully their desire for social progress. The Democratic Party also nominated a candidate who supported progressive ideas. The Democrats chose Governor Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey, a former president of Princeton University. So, for the first time in many years, there were three major candidates for president. Wilson clearly had the best chance to win. He had the support of almost all the Democrats. The Republicans, however, were split. Some supported Taft. The others were for Roosevelt.　

Roosevelt refused to accept the idea of defeat. He campaigned hard, visiting many cities and towns, making speech after speech. Wilson also campaigned hard. He seemed to enjoy it as much as Roosevelt. Taft did not like it at all. He refused to do much campaigning. He spent most of the time at his summer home. It was a quiet election campaign...until the middle of October. Then, only three weeks before election day, Roosevelt was shot.　

It happened in Milwaukee. Roosevelt had just left his hotel and climbed into the automobile that would carry him to the hall where he planned to make a speech. As he stood in the open car, an extremist named John Schrank ran up to him, pulled a gun from his coat, and fired a bullet into Roosevelt's chest. The bullet knocked him down. Roosevelt said it felt as if he had been kicked by a mule. He jumped up and put his hand to the wound. The bullet had passed through the inside pocket of his coat. It struck a steel case that held his glasses, and went through the folded fifty pages of his written speech. These slowed the bullet, and it went only a few centimeters into his chest.　

An x-ray of Theodore Roosevelt's rib showing the bullet shot by John Schrank对西奥多.罗斯福肋骨的X射线显现出约翰.施兰克向他射击的子弹

Roosevelt did not know if he was seriously wounded. He put his hand to his mouth and coughed. No blood came. And he knew the shot had not damaged his lungs. Roosevelt ordered the crowd around to stop beating Schrank. "Bring him to me," he said. He looked down at the man. "You poor creature," said Roosevelt. Then he turned away. Doctors arrived. They said Roosevelt must go at once to the hospital. But Roosevelt refused. He said he would go to the hall. "I will make this speech," he said, "or die. It will be one or the other." On his way to the hall, he told a friend: "It takes more than that to kill a Roosevelt. I do not care a rap about being shot. Not a rap."　

At the hall, he stood before the big crowd. His face was white. But he stood straight, without help. Someone announced that Roosevelt had been wounded, but still planned to speak. Roosevelt's voice was very low, almost a whisper. "I am going to ask you to be very quiet. And please excuse me from making a long speech. I will do the best I can. But there is a bullet in me." He paused and then continued. "It is nothing. I am not hurt badly. I have something to say. And I will say it as long as there is life in my body."　

Roosevelt's speech was not important. He said nothing that he had not already said many times before. What was important, however, was his cool courage. Men did not see his act as foolish or overly-dramatic. They saw it as the brave act of a strong man. To the public, he was a hero. Roosevelt spoke for almost an hour. Finally, very weak, he let himself be helped from the hall. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors could examine the wound.　

The doctors found that the bullet had broken a rib, but caused no serious damage. They decided to leave the bullet where it was. The next day, Roosevelt made a statement from his hospital bed. "Tell the people not to worry about me. For if I go down, another will take my place." President Taft and Woodrow Wilson sent messages of regret to Roosevelt. They announced that they would not campaign until Roosevelt was able to do so.　

Roosevelt's condition improved quickly. After two weeks of rest, he was ready to continue his campaign for the presidency. He made a speech to a big crowd at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Everyone was surprised to see how strong and healthy he seemed. Wilson ended his campaign in New York City the next day. He told a cheering crowd of Democrats: "What the Democratic Party proposes to do is to go into power and do the things that the Republican Party has been talking about for sixteen years."　

Woodrow Wilson

On November fifth, the people voted. The winner was Woodrow Wilson. He received more than six million votes. Roosevelt was second with four million. Taft received only about three and a half million. Wilson's victory was even greater in the electoral vote. He got four hundred thirty-five. Roosevelt got only eighty-eight. And Taft received only the eight electoral votes of Utah and Vermont. The Democrats won not only the White House, but also control of Congress. And a number of Democratic governors were elected in states formerly controlled by Republicans.　

The nineteen twelve campaign ended public life for Theodore Roosevelt. Soon after the election, a friend visited Roosevelt and talked of possible victory in nineteen sixteen. "I thought you were a better politician," Roosevelt said. "The fight is over. We are beaten. There is only one thing to do. That is to go back to the Republican Party. You cannot hold a party like the Progressive Party together. There are no loaves and fishes...no financial support."　

War was soon to break out in Europe. The United States would enter the struggle in nineteen seventeen. As always, Roosevelt was ready to join in a fight. He asked for permission to organize an American force and lead it into battle in France. President Wilson, however, turned down the request. Roosevelt was sure that it was a political decision. He never forgave Wilson for keeping him out of the war. Although Roosevelt himself could not fight, four of his sons went into battle. One -- his youngest son Quentin -- did not return. When he received news of his son's death, Roosevelt wrote these words to honor him:　

"Only those are fit to live who do not fear to die. And none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy of life. Both life and death are parts of the same great adventure. All of us who give service and stand ready for sacrifice are torch bearers. We run with the torches until we fall, satisfied if we can then pass them to the hands of other runners.　The torches whose flame is brightest are carried by the brave men on the battlefield and by the brave women whose husbands, lovers, sons, and brothers struggle there. These are the torch bearers. These are they who have dared the great adventure."　

Roosevelt's own great adventure was itself coming to an end. He suffered from painful attacks of inflammatory rheumatism and from a serious ear infection. He had difficulty in hearing and could not walk. But the old man was still cheerful. He spent his sixtieth birthday in the hospital. And to his family and friends, he said: "I am ahead of the game. Nobody ever packed more kinds of fun and interest into sixty years." Death came to Roosevelt as he slept on the night of January sixth, nineteen nineteen. Said Vice President Thomas Marshall: "Death had to take him sleeping. For if Roosevelt had been awake, there would have been a fight."　

http://www.21voa.com/path.asp?url=/201009/se-nation-154-election-of-1912-16-sep-10.mp3