3. The Best Self-Effacing Comeback 最佳谦让反驳
Abraham Lincoln was not the most attractive presidents but he was in a sense, almost fascinatingly ugly. During a debate, Lincoln was accused by his more hostile opponent of being two-faced. Lincoln managed to accomplish what few men have done before, he defended himself without insulting the other man, and even poked fun at a flaw of his all in the same sentence. Lincoln calmly turned to the crowd and said:
亚伯拉罕·林肯不是美国历史上最迷人的总统，不过从某种意义上来说，他丑得很有魅力。在一次辩论中，对方发言很是咄咄逼人，他指责林肯是个两面派。林肯完成了很少有人实现的壮举，他没有侮辱对方就为自己做了辩护，还在话里对自己的缺陷开起了玩笑。他很冷静地面对人群然后说道：
“If I had two faces, do you think I’d be wearing this one?”
“如果我有两张脸，你觉得为什么我现在脸是这样？”