白宫总统的前任“笔杆子”

Matt Lauer & Willie Geist

Lauer： What were you doing in your 20s？ Maybe you shouldnt answer that， but Jon Favreau spent his at the right hand of the President writing words that made history.

Geist： Jon Favreau started writing presidential campaign speeches for John Kerry at the age of 22， a few months removed from his college graduation. He later teamed up with a freshman Senator named Barack Obama， the man who now calls Favreau his“1）mind reader.”

The two have been inseparable writing partners since Favreau joined then Senator Obama in 2005. Four years later， at 27 years old， the Massachusetts native became the second-youngest head speech writer in the history of the White House.

劳尔：你20多岁的时候在干什么？也许你不应该回答，但乔恩·费夫洛在这个年龄段伴随总统左右，为其撰写创造历史的说辞。

盖斯特：在乔恩·费夫洛22岁大学毕业后几个月，他开始为约翰·克里（美国现任国务卿）写总统竞选演讲稿。后来，他和当时新上任的参议员巴拉克·奥巴马合作，现在奥巴马称费夫洛为他的“读心者”。

自从费夫洛在2005年和时任参议员奥巴马合作之后，他们两个成了密不可分的写作伙伴。四年后，27岁的马萨诸塞州小伙成为了白宫历史上第二年轻的首席演讲稿撰写人。

Theres a lot of focus on your age. People are obsessed that youre this “2）wunderkind.” Did you ever stop and say “I might be in a little over my head here？”

Favreau： Well， all the time I think that Im in over my head.

Geist： Still？

Favreau： Yeah， of course， especially when youre writing for the President.

Geist： Favreau hit the ground running， writing an inaugural address， making the case for health care reform and 3）scrambling to finish a Nobel Prize acceptance speech aboard Air Force One.

Geist： For a variety of reasons it was a difficult speech， yes. Not the least of which the President openly said，“Im not sure I deserve this.”

Favreau： He didnt have much time to write the speech， and so he spent the night before we went to 4）Oslo up til three in the morning writing seven pages of material. We fly to Oslo， and， during the flight， everyone falls asleep， and we are trying furiously to finish the speech. He handed us edits， literally as he was in the elevator over to the…to the stage and we put the final words on the 5）prompter right as he was walking up to the 6）podium.

Geist： With his age， his looks and his 7）proximity to power， Favreau became a star quickly： one of Time magazines 100 most influential people， one of Peoples most beautiful， and 8）tabloids started asking about his relationships after he was spotted with actress Rashida Jones.

What do you think about this celebrity aspect of this job？

Favreau： You know， I…Ive always been told “always take your job seriously， never take yourself seriously，”and， you know， this is more 9）fodder for my friends to 10）mock me relentlessly for than anything that I actually take seriously.

Geist： Favreaus job is most difficult， he says， during times of a national crisis.

Favreau： He said to me， “You know， youre not a parent yet， but， when youre a parent， having a child is like walking around all day with your heart outside your body.” That was a line that we ended up using in…in 11）Newtown. In the eight years Ive known him， Id never seen him like that. It affected him very deeply.

Geist： Even as Favreau walks away from the White House， he suspects he hasnt heard the last from his friend in the 12）Oval Office.

Favreau： Ive told him Ill be there if he ever…if he ever needs me， and…and hes told me that once in a while he might call， and I will pick up the phone. Geist： You wont send him to voice mail.

Favreau： I will not send him to voice mail， no. No， thats a call Ill take.

Geist： Ultimately he has his eye on screenwriting for television.

Lauer： We wish him well. Hes a talented young man.

大家都很关注你的年龄，人们谈论说你是一个了不起的“神童”。你是否有停下来，问问自己，“我会不会做不来这个？”

费夫洛：嗯，我一直都认为这超出我的能力。

盖斯特：现在还这样想吗？

费夫洛：是的，当然，我毕竟是为总统写演讲稿啊。

盖斯特：费夫洛争分夺秒展开工作，撰写就职演讲稿，用言辞说服国民支持医疗改革，在空军一号上匆忙地完成一份诺贝尔奖获奖感言。

盖斯特：从多方面角度来看，写诺贝尔奖获奖感言真的不是一份简单的活儿。总统不会公开这样说，“我不敢肯定这是我应得的。”

费夫洛：他没有多少时间写演讲稿，所以他在我们去奥斯陆的前一天晚上工作到凌晨三点，撰写了七页材料。我们飞去奥斯陆，在飞行过程中，所有人都睡着了，而我们却在拼命地完成演讲稿。几乎是在他前往台前的电梯里，他把演讲稿的草稿交给我们，然后在他正好走向演讲台那一刻，我们刚好来得及把演讲辞的最终版本放上了提词机。

盖斯特：因为他的年龄、他的相貌，以及他与权力的近距离，费夫洛很快成为了一个明星：《时代》杂志最具影响力100人之一；《人物》杂志最帅气的人之一；当他被发现与女演员拉什达·琼斯在一起的时候，众小报也开始关注他的私生活。

对于这份让你成为名人的工作你是怎么看待的？

费夫洛：你知道，大家一直在告诉我，“永远要认真对待你的工作，永远不要把自己当回事，”还有，你知道，我对名人效应这类事情并不看重，但我的朋友倒是无休止地拿这些事跟我开玩笑。

盖斯特：他说，在全国性的危机事件发生时，他的工作是最难的。

费夫洛：他跟我说，“你知道，你还没有为人父母，但是，当你为人父母，有了孩子的时候，你会感觉就像是你的心不在自己身上，而完全放在孩子身上了。”最终，我们在纽敦镇枪击案后的演讲中也用了这句话。在我跟他相处的八年中，我从来没有见过他那样，那对他的影响太深了。

盖斯特：费夫洛说，虽然他不再在白宫工作了，但是他觉得自己与总统的关系并未结束。

费夫洛：我告诉他，只要他……只要他需要我，我就会帮忙。还有……还有，他告诉我，也许会偶尔给我打电话，我会接他的电话的。

盖斯特：你不会把他的电话转接到语音信箱吧？

费夫洛：我不会把他的电话转接到语音信箱的，不会。肯定不会，我会接起他的来电的。

盖斯特：他最终把目光放到了电视剧本创作上了。

劳尔：我们祝愿他一切顺利，他是个很有才华的年轻人。

翻译：小蜗