前总统奥巴马正在猛烈抨击现任总统特朗普，以支持争夺参议院控制权的民主党人。他有一句关于芝士蛋糕工厂的台词，不知为何人们觉得好笑。究竟为什么？我不确定。也许你能告诉我。我们来看看。“就像萨达姆·侯赛因开了一家芝士蛋糕工厂。”嗯。我不明白？有什么门道？萨达姆·侯赛因，我可以提醒你，是伊拉克的一位可鄙的独裁者，曾在美国共和党领导下被推翻。
Ex-President Obama is unloading on current President Trump, in support of Democrats vying to take back the Senate. He had some line about the Cheesecake Factory, which people thought was funny, for some reason. Why exactly? I’m not sure. Maybe you can tell me. Let’s watch. “Like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”Huh. I don’t get it? What’s the catch? Saddam Hussein, may I remind you, was a reprehensible dictator of Iraq, who was overthrown by America, under Republican leadership.
你可能记得，奥巴马当时是州参议员，反对的正是这件事。如果他不喜欢侯赛因的工业政策，那他当然没有对此发声。但这没关系，随便吧。现在这成了笑柄。现在他说特朗普，正在对白宫进行亟需且完全合理的翻修，因此就像独裁者？这说不通。让我提醒你，每一位总统都对白宫院落做过改动，而且往往是必要的。
Obama, then a state senator, objected to this very thing, you may recall. If he didn’t like Hussein’s industrial policy, he certainly failed to speak up about it. But that’s fine, whatever. Now it’s a punch line. Now he says Trump, who is carrying out much needed and entirely reasonable renovations of the White House, is akin to a dictator for that reason? Well that doesn’t make sense. Let me remind you that every president has made changes to the White House grounds, and often they are needed.
舞厅是总统绝对有权建造的，并且发挥着至关重要的作用。奥巴马自以为是谁？这个人喜欢成为关注的焦点。他热爱主流媒体和自由派媒体给予他的关注。而且，请原谅，芝士蛋糕工厂怎么突然成为嘲笑的对象了？这是一个美妙的美国机构。每个人都能找到适合自己的东西，这很棒。多样性是自由市场体系的基本组成部分。
The ballroom is something the president absolutely has the right to build, and it serves a vital function. Who does Obama think he is? This man loves to be the center of attention. He adores the attention he receives from mainstream and liberal media. And also, excuse me, why is the Cheesecake Factory suddenly an object of ridicule? This is a wonderful American institution. There is something for everyone, and that’s great. Variety is an essential component of the free market system.
这是件好事。我们庆祝它。老实说，奥巴马嘲笑它，我一点也不惊讶。他是极左翼的代言人，代表一种反资本主义的经济体系，在这种体系中，选择被低估了。让中央委员会决定你吃什么主菜，菜单见鬼去吧。这就是他全部的哲学。我不怀念它——你们呢，选民朋友们？我们真的想选举美国历史上最激进、最左翼、最亲社会主义的多数党来掌权吗？
It’s a good thing. We celebrate it. Honestly, I’m not surprised that Obama would make fun of it. He is a spokesperson for the far left, for an anti-capitalism economic system, in which choice is undervalued. Let the central committee decide what main course you get, screw the menu. That’s his whole philosophy. I don’t miss it — do you, fellow voters? Do we really want to elect the most radical, far-left pro-socialist majority to ever aspire to hold power in American history?
在我看来，这比让唐纳德·特朗普在白宫增建一个新翼楼要危险得多——这个空间将在未来多年里被共和党和民主党政府共同享用。罗比·索维是《国会山报》评论节目《崛起》的联合主持人，也是《理性》杂志的高级编辑。本文是他每日评论的编辑转录稿。
That sounds far more dangerous to me than letting Donald Trump add a new wing to the White House — a space that will be enjoyed by Republican and Democratic administrations for years to come. Robby Soave is co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising” and a senior editor for Reason Magazine. This column is an edited transcription of his daily commentary.